


It's Just Not Our Time

by MysticAttack



Series: Not A Moment Too Soon [2]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Angst, Drug Addiction, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Murder, Past Abuse, Rape Recovery, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2019-05-18 18:11:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 80,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14857710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysticAttack/pseuds/MysticAttack
Summary: Elest has been on the run since she was nineteen.After escaping Caesar's Legion, her enslavement of six years is over. In an attempt to keep herself off the radar, she found that the Mojave Express will hire anyone with legs and a kind face, but she didn't think one of her deliveries would end with her in a shallow grave and two bullets in her head. Elest didn't give a shit about her job or about finding inner peace. God couldn't have given her just one person that she needed to kill for vengeance, instead, they gave her four. Lucius, Caesar, Vulpes, and Benny.Chapter 10 postponed as I'm heavily editing chapters3/9 new content!





	1. Headless Chicken

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't read The Way Of The Wind, then go check it out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New edit means new comment, hey everyone! I haven't updated since... I would say last year but I technically updated on the second of January. I'd say this is a bit better than the last version, though it isn't as funny and Elest is a bit of a party pooper now. It's all for the sake of the plot, I'll be damned if I take away her southern commentary though! Enjoy!

It had been months since that red-headed girl waltzed into Novac with a pukka and panicked expression on her face, tangled hair scrunching around her blanching forehead.

In the mouth of the dinosaur, Boone watched her tread onward, the illumination from her Pipboy acting like a spotlight. A robotic dog pranced at her side with its tongue hanging out of its mouth, a metallic paw created a clanking noise while they approached Novac. 

Not many nights did he see any more than traveling merchants or a stray ant worker on the roads. Moving his finger from the trigger, he brought his scope to the panel of his sunglasses to take a closer look. 

She was limping. Blood stained the pant leg of her Brahmin-skin trousers, she would find Ada if she continued down the road to the bundled tents, he didn't bother himself with it. Dr. Straus was skeptical but the only medic they had. She looked in pain, but could probably handle a bullet embedded in a leg. Strangers weren't his problem. 

Craig didn't think much of it and kept his eyes trained forward. The terrain remained empty, other than the wind thrashing up dust, sand, and tumbleweeds. 

Boone watched the sunrise, checking the clock on his wrist, he turned around and left through the door leading down to the Dino Bite gift shop. Manny stood at the bottom of the stairs, "hey man!" He said, the crowsfeet beside his eyes deepening with his smile. "Good shift?"

Boone didn't look at him, he kept his eyes ahead and sulked through the belly of the dinosaur.

Cliff paid him a nod of respect when he reached the first floor, "see anything on watch?"

"Just some girl with a robot dog," he replied, stringing his rifle over his shoulder.

Cliff nodded, "I know who you're talking about. She's a courier with the Mojave Express, a nice gal too. Anyway," the shopkeep set a small box of coffee grinds on the counter. "A caravan came along and was selling these grounds pretty cheap so I bought a dozen. I'm giving you and Manny one for free, alright? Don't tell Andy." He smiled. Boone reached out and grabbed it.

"Thanks, I'll try it before my next shift."

"Then bring 'em to me and I'll make you a batch for free, alright?"

He paused, taking off his shades and clipping them on the collar of his shirt, "yeah, thanks."

"Take it easy, Boone."  
  
He nodded, passing by to exit the Dinky.

The same Routine, nothing changes. Fine by him, it kept him focused. 

Novac never did get many visitors. If so it was the few passing by to New Vegas or merchants. Today was a bit different. He walked down the wooden steps of stairs, seeing that woman with the dog staggering through the gate, looking over her shoulder nervously with a washed out face. A bandage around her right leg and her pants cut to her knee. Her dog circled around her, howling miserably at her condition. As Boone passed by, he heard her grousing to the hound.

"Shush Rex, this is nothing! We're safe. They won't find us here."

Craig continued forward, and she limped through the door to the front desk, her dog following after her solicitously. Boone adjusted the fit of his 1st con beret and made his way to his motel room.

A robotic dog. . .

His apartment was dark. The curtains were drawn over the boarded windows to keep the place dark and dim. He wouldn't move them since the last to touch them had been Carla, he didn't dare move them. Shutting the door behind him, Boon removed his rifle to hang it up on the coat rack.

He set the coffee grounds on the table beside the landline. Rubbing the stress from his eyes, he took a seat at the table and put his head in his hands. It was getting more difficult to get sleep before his next shift, and at this rate, he would be going out there running on nothing but Cliff's coffee. It wasn't a good look, Carla wouldn't want this for him.

Nothing was keeping him in Novac anymore, nothing but the idea of her being in this room. He knew it was just him now. Her side of the bed wasn't hers anymore with how much he laid there. She always hated it here. It was hard for a woman of her taste to be fond of a town that got its name from a "No Vacancy" sign. Boone knew she would rather him get out of here and start over, perhaps go back to California, or take himself right up to Cottonwood Cove and find out how many Legion bastards he could take with him until his time came.

Boone didn't deserve to mourn her, to mourn  _them_. He should've noticed this was going to happen, sooner or later he supposed. It was his fault for getting too comfortable with her, but it was too late, he was too fucking late.

Boone closed his eyes and allowed his head to hang low, zoning out on everything but the buzz of silence.

* * *

Brushing the strands of hair from her eyes, Elest shut the door of the front desk behind her and leaned against it with a sigh of exasperation. This time, Jeannie May wasn't as nice as the last few times she stayed here, maybe it had to do with her just starting the day, not even brewing her morning coffee. But seeing Rexy and listening to her sob story about her package being stolen was a good help with getting a discount on a motel room, but Elest decided to leave out the part where she got shot in the head.

Even then, Jeannie didn't know more than anyone else about the bastard who killed her. The most she had was that the Great Khans Mr. City boy had with him knew the daytime sniper: Manny. Elest felt like a chicken running around without its head, going from person-to-person. She still didn't have his name, all she knew is that he was nothing short of ugly, Trudy in Goodsprings made that pretty clear.

 _"Had his nose stuck so high in the air, you couldn't see it above the clouds,"_  Jeannie said, which was like most city folk. Elest already knew that Jeannie hated those types from their first time meeting.

Taking her first step away from the door was excruciating to the point where she nearly fell to her knees. Elest cursed, resulting in Rex trying to lick at the gauze to show his care. She reached out to hold onto the gate for support, catching her breath.

Elest couldn't believe she let herself be so sure that the Legionaries at Nipton didn't see her. It was like they came out of  _nowhere_. She had enough on her plate, especially back in the dried up lake. Fire ants were a bitch to fight but she was sure that the midnight dust storm was enough for her to get through without being seen. Then suddenly bullets were soaring past her ears.

At first, Elest wanted to believe the gunshots were coming from Helios One, just Northeast of her. Otherwise, that would make her the most unlucky bitch in the Mojave for the Legion to find her  _now_.

It had been four years since she was last on the Legion's radar; if they found her now then she was in deeper shit than just being shot in the head.

Nevertheless, she must've had some luck on her side. Maybe it had to do with all the dust and lack of sunlight, but every damn bullet missed her. The varmint rifle she got from Sunny Smiles was shitty compared to All-American, but an added scope was all she needed to pluck them off one by one, her heart rattling against her rib cage.

She took three of them down before her ammo clip ran out, by then it was game over. The last Legionary was close enough to throw a spear at her knee. Elest hoped he just miscalculated his aim and missed her chest. There was always a chance that he only wanted to cripple her so she could be taken alive.

Thankfully, Rexy came to her aid immediately pouncing on the Legionary with all the strength he could muster and tore him apart in her defense. His screams could be heard for miles. Then he ran to her side, lapping at her hands, face, and the blood oozing from the tear in her jeans.

It could always be worse. if the spear was a bit further west then she wouldn't be able to walk.

"Keep whining and I'll make you carry every damn hat I come across in the Mojave," she said, looking up at Rex who was staring at her from the top of the stairs as she struggled to move up the flight. It was enough to hear the word 'hat' since he snarled indignantly, shaking his furry head side-to-side.

Elest snorted at his reaction, pressing all her weight on the railing. She'd be damned before a simple flesh wound stopped her from doing what she wanted. Doctor Straus wasn't Arcade, but she couldn't complain. It was her fault he went back to the Mormon Fort in the first place.

Elest clicked to her notes on the Pipboy. Doctor Mitchell said to write down her thoughts and a to-do list to help heal her struggling memory. She could hear Arcade laughing at her now, watching her jot things down like an old woman. Maybe she needed him to lighten her mood more than she cared to admit.

Head to Novac ~~through Nipton~~    
Find the asshole who shot you  
Talk to Gibson for a brain  
Take Rex to Dr. Henry  
Take Rex back to the King  
Tell Arcade you're sorry  
**?**

A pathetic list, but it was better than nothing. Elest knew what she would have to replace that question mark with: 'Run for your life.' If the Legion was hot on her tail, did this mean that Lucius knew she was alive? If so, she might as well cross off her apology to Arcade and any thoughts of finding that man with a tasteless suit.

Not to mention a man who tried to kill you once probably wouldn't get the chance to kill you twice.

Elest continued up the stairs, clenching her teeth to block out the pain. "I got Gecko steak in my backpack. Wait till we get inside," she grumbled, settling on the second floor of the apartment building and fishing out the room key from her pocket to stick it in the lock.

She shoved it open with her shoulder, Rex walking in right behind her. The generator beside the door hadn't been turned off by the last person who had rented. Sighing, she tossed her duffel bag on the bed. It still had some dirt etched into the material from being buried with her, but she tried to not think about it. Elest stretched her arms and limped forward, "do you think there's anything in the fridge waiting for us Rexy?" She cooed, reaching for the refrigerator and pulling it open.

She frowned, "hmm. . . Three bottles of vodka and two hundred-year-old mac and cheese. Great." She shut the door. Rex sat on the ground right in front of an old cabinet, staring at her with bulging eyes.

Elest stared back at him, watching him tilt his head to the side without breaking contact. She passed by to get that Gecko steak she prepared for him after she left Primm. "I don't know if they have any plates, bud. If they do then they might not be cleaned. So just eat your heart out."

She kneeled down and placed the meat in front of him. His ears perked up before immediately devouring his dinner, scoffing it down like he hadn't eaten in days. Elest smiled, returning to her cool-toned duffle bag to rummage through.

She knew there was some Sunset Sasperilla in her bag somewhere, as well as a caravan lunch she's had in there for God knows how long. Elest brushed off a coat of grime from the surface of the paint, inside was a decent meal, at least to someone who's used to living on the road and in Freeside. It was dry and possibly a few weeks old, but she wasn't here to complain. She'd eaten worse.

Elest sat on the end of the hotel bed, a groan escaping her with the dull throb that ran through the length of her leg. With the noise, Rexy's looked over at her but continued chewing. "You think I'd have a fork in my bag somewhere," she sighed, hesitating before digging into her food with her fingers.

Rex finished after Elest started her meal, his tongue lapped at his mouth greedily. Once he grew restless, he began roaming the surrounding area. He sniffed at the carpeting, sheets, even the suitcase close to the door. Since she started traveling again with Rex, she could tell something was a bit different this time. After she got him back from the King when she was shot, it was like he was looking after her.

Sometimes Elest felt selfish for dragging him around, especially since it was taking her much longer to fix him than she first thought it would. She put his life in danger on the daily, and yesterday proved that. At this point it was all so she wouldn't have to spend her hours alone, so she wouldn't feel terrified at night.

The Courier finished her dinner in silence. Sunlight peeking through the wooden boards over the windows started to dim, she watched Rex with a sullen look. He didn't seem upset, and now that they were on a hunt for a new brain it was like he could sense that he was going to be well again. Though he still has his moments, ones more frequent than they were back in Freeside, but it didn't stop him from living life to the fullest.

Elest closed her empty caravan lunch and set it beside her duffel bag, stretching her arms above her head until her shoulders released a small 'pop'. Rex whimpered, causing her eyes to snap open, fearful that he was having more headaches. Instead, he was standing by the motel door with his tail wagging impatiently.

"No, we need to sleep. We got a lot ahead of us from now on."

Rex complained, shifting to sprawl himself out on the carpet. He didn't move his eyes from hers. Mouth falling open to let his tongue hang out. "You've been doing nothing but walking for nearly three days, take a damn nap."

Once again, he whimpered, louder this time, like he was protesting, telling her that he wanted to run around in the safety of a small town. Chase his tail and run in circles. Elest rolled her eyes and gave into his implore. "Fine!" She snapped, getting up from the bed. "You've got such a way with words, you know?"

Rex barked, jumping up and wagging his tail profusely. Elest shook her head, his enthusiasm wasn't almost sickening. She limped to the door, and as soon as she opened it, he barreled through with silent eagerness. Thankfully he didn't bark, she didn't want herself being known as "that lady with the loud ass robotic dog".

Looking back at her duffel bag in the room behind her, she decided to leave it behind. She shut the door and followed after Rex who darted down the stairs, his metallic leg clanking against the steps before sprinting around the open ground like a 9mm bullet.

"Weirdo," Elest grumbled, even though it lifted her spirits on command. She continued down, setting her palm on the railing when the pain grew unbearable. Envy stirred in her chest while watching Rex run around like a crazed fiend drugged up on psycho. Only last night she took a spear to the knee but she missed running, especially since she was going to need to do it a lot more in a few days.

Elest sat down at the bottom step, watching Rex take interest in the concrete rubble close to the apartments. She pressed her hands together and released a deep exhale through her nose. She looked up at the grey sky, trying to keep herself from thinking of the inevitable until one of the motel doors behind Rex opened. It interrupted her dog's aimless hunt for whatever he'd been searching for.

Elest looked over, watching a man leave his room with a hunting rifle over his shoulder, sunglasses over his eyes, looked well in need of a shave and was in dusty, dull-colored wasteland fatigue. What caught her sight was the scarlet beret on top of his head, it was one too familiar for comfort, impossible for her to miss it.

He hadn't noticed her yet, but sure as hell noticed Rex. After all, it would be difficult to miss a large guard dog staring you down. He barked and wagged his tail. Elest hesitated, not knowing whether or not it would be best to tell Rex to stand down. He took one look at the beret on the man's head and a guttural growl surpassed his mouth, ears biting back in defense.

"Don't take it personally," Elest spoke, catching his attention. "He doesn't like hats."

He didn't respond. Elest snapped her fingers in Rex's direction until she caught his attention, a stern whistle forced through her teeth. "Leave him alone, Rexy," She commanded. The dog glared at her but reluctantly stood down. Continuing on with his fleeting run around the town, sniffing at the gates and the tail of the dinosaur. "Howdy, late night huh?"

"What is it to you?" He asked, his tone straightforward. If Elest didn't know any better, she would've said that his hostility appalled her, but it was the way of the Wasteland. A chuckle left her at his remark.

"You don't like strangers huh?"

"No. I don't." Well, maybe not to the point where he would kill one, he was NCR from the looks of that fancy beret, the bear skull over a background of crossed rifles. She stood too close for his expertise.

"Well, I'm Elest with the Mojave Express. So now we aren't strangers." She held one of her hands out for him to shake. His mouth twitched at her kindness, something not many folks had out here in Nevada, especially with passersby. She uncomfortably lowered her hand, realizing he wasn't going to shake it. "I'm looking for someone, two Great Khans and a man in a checkered coat, seen anyone like that?"

"Sounds like a bunch of trouble. No, so maybe you should go." Without another word, he continued walking. Leaving Elest stuck with a demented frown.

"You look like you could use some help with something," she called out before he ambled too far. Rex busied himself with a tumbleweed that had gotten stuck on the other side of the fence. He stopped, turning around with his mouth uptight. He had a demeanor about him that made her wonder whether or not he would blow her off.

"Maybe. Maybe I do." His voice was low and only meant to be audible for himself. Elest rose her eyebrow in question. He scraped his fingertips over his beard, "What makes you think that you could help me?"

"You don't know me, makes concerting easier," she said with a sheepish smile. It sounded more meek than cunning. Elest had no clue why it could make anything easier, especially since he met her three minutes ago and spent most of that time staring at her rather than talking.

But it must've been enough of a reason for him to step forward. She'd have to consider what type of man he was, trusting a stranger over friends and family.

"Fine." It seemed to be a big step for him to say that, he moved forward. Elest who was still on the stairs angled her head higher to address him. "I want you to find something for me. I don't know if you will but it's worth a try." He looked around to be certain that there were no prying ears. "My wife was taken from our home by Legion slavers one night while I was on watch."

She stopped her mouth from falling open at the confession. It hit too close to home for comfort, making it hard to hide her dejected look. Nonetheless, she pushed back her sentiment and focused on his words.

"They knew when to come, what route to take, and they only took Carla." His tone wavered slightly when her name left his mouth. Elest noticed, but ignored it.

"I don't know if I can help find her," she replied, words diminishing at each syllable. The tension in his jaw increase with her response, maybe from how she reckoned the situation. He curtly shook his head.

"My wife's dead. I want the son of a bitch who sold her. I just don't know who it is."

To know a loved one enslaved by the legion was dead is a privilege. Most only knew if they were there to see it, like her. Something about him made Elest think of her father and Team Omega, and how they coped after her family was taken, maybe that's what drove her to nod her head. "I'll help you find them."

He softened. "Good, find the bastard and bring him out in front of the sniper's nest while I'm on duty. I work nights." He hesitated before taking off his beret and handing it to her. "Put this on when it's time so I'll know you're standing with him, it'll be our signal. Then I'll take care of the rest. . . I need to do this myself."

He must've been thinking of this for too long, going through all the things that he could do to sate this bloodlust, but he settled with the quick and clean, Elest could respect that. Some longed to draw out their vengeance, relish in the torment of the person who put them through misery. Elest understood, fucking hell, she understood that too much. It seemed formal that he wanted to get it over with. Nothing messy, she admired that.

Still, killing Legion slave traders was the last thing she should be doing, especially since all she had to do was walk past a legion dominated town to be recognized. Enough for an attempt on her life to be made.

"And we shouldn't speak again, not until it's over. No one in town knows I know what happened to my wife. Best they never know, or the Legion will be after me next."

"Well, at least tell me your name before you run off."

"Boone," He replied, walking to the Gift Shop.

Elest watched him walk up the dinosaur stairs. She cursed, at least now there was a reason to stay in town, one that didn't make her feel like a headless chicken. She could help someone this time.

Elest placed a hand on the railing for support and pulled herself to her feet. "Come on, Rexy. We've got a busy day tomorrow."

* * *

Elest was awake and dressed before the sun was up, which was nothing new. Sleep wasn't something that came easily if she wasn't high out of her mind, even then nightmares still bombarded her. She watched the time on her Pipboy count up until it read  **8:01 AM**  before searching through her bag for her Jet and a dose of Med-X. Arcade would wring her neck if he found out she was using again. It took them three long years to get her clean, and all she needed to relapse was one pitiful fight with Arcade. She knew he would be disappointed, but she couldn't stop now.

Elest grabbed her 10mm and opened the door, looking at Rex who was laying down on the motel bed, he had jolted awake and was staring at her. She stuck the handgun in the waistband of her trousers.

"Sorry bud, I'm going on a few errands. Stay put."

He whimpered but remained still. Lowering his chin back to his paw.

After a rather forceful conversation with Jeannie May Crawford, Elest found that no one knew much about Carla. Well, much could be said but none of it was kind. "A cactus flower," Jeannie said, which Elest first thought was a compliment until she elaborated. A beautiful woman with a spiteful and stuck up disposition. Kind of like her mother.

Finding a corporate turned into a bit of a reunion. Novac was a roundabout for her courier work, meaning it was a uniformal stop and everyone usually had extra work on the side. Andy always had something for her, and it was good to see a face she didn't suspect for murder.

He had pulled a lawn chair out and was sitting out in front of his home, picking at his handheld radio with worry, but seeing her helped with his expression. "I heard from Jeannie that you were back in town. How's that courier work treating you?"

That question was a loaded gun. "It could be better, one of my packages got stolen and I'm trying to find the people who took it. The deputy in Primm said they came here, so here I am."

Maybe he was expecting a simple 'tons of good', but she wasn't here to beat around the bush. "Shit kid. Sounds like you have your hands full. I don't think I've seen anyone like that. Since my body isn't like it used to be, this is the first time I've been outside in a few days. I can hardly drag my leg anymore."

"Well, we can be cripple buddies then." She joked. It got a laugh out of him, and she was glad to see it. He looked miserable, especially in the heat.

"The people who robbed you, they do that?"

"No," she knocked on her hip. "The Legion not too far from Helios One. They hit Nipton."

"Really?" His hand moved to his face, stricken, "god,  _god_. The Mojave really is going to hell! The radio said Nelson was grabbed a few weeks ago, I'm worried Novac will be next." He adjusted his ranger hat and shook his head. It was obvious that he was anxious, given that the radio beside him was spitting out nothing but interference.

"You'd think the ranger station and the NCR at Helios One would be enough to scare them off." Elest scoffed, crossing her arms. His face soured like he just smelled something funny.

"You're right, but the Legion is mad and doney. And the rangers at Station Charlie haven't radioed me back yet. I know they're busy and capable soldiers but. . . It's never been this long before. Those fools have me worried."

Maybe she shouldn't have told him about Nipton, it just seemed to tense his shoulders. Elest knew how much it meant to Andy to stay in touch with the NCR, to the point where he still wore his armor. "I'll go check on them for you."

He kept his lips pursed and stayed quiet. "For your sanity Andy," she said, "no one likes a miserable veteran."

"I'm getting worked up over nothing, but if you've got the time. . . Thank you."

"No problem," Elest grinned.

She hadn't been able to ask Andy about Boone's wife. It just didn't feel right, but it didn't matter, he would never do something like that.

Elest made her way into the Dino Bite Gift Shop after their interaction. The stabbing in her knee reduced to an ache since she walked down the motel stairs, she'd be fine as long as she kept her leg straight until the Med-X fully kicked in. Cliff was behind the counter reading an old newspaper, She greeted him, surprised to find that she remembered his name.

He didn't know any more than the rest of them, other than her having a look on her face that made him wonder if there was something off with the scent of his shop. Cliff only told her that Manny might know more since he was Boone's partner back in the NCR, he was around the couple a lot.

Manny never sat well for her, since the first time she met him with Cass and Arcade. But she let it slide since he was NCR, which seemed like a load of shit. You can side with the greenest grass and still be an asshole.

He was on his daytime shift, so Elest took it as a chance to search his room for anything that would pinpoint him as a Legion slaver. She would ask him herself, but he'd always been a bit of a sleazeball and would end up charging for his time. She waited until No-Bark stopped interrogating the remains of a pre-war car before picking the lock and slipping inside like it was her own room.

His apartment wasn't exactly what she'd been expecting for someone with a stable job. He didn't even have a refrigerator. Elest moved away from the loveseat crudely placed in the middle of the room and over the mattresses. Her first move was the terminal, sticking out like a sore thumb with the pearl light coming from the keyboard.

There was no password, but in notes was an entry labeled: Khan Hospitality. It was written for Manny. Apparently, his old Khan friends took refuge here with some weasel named Benny after they stole a package from his boss. Next, they would be heading for Boulder City

Benny. . .

"Fuck." She pressed the power button and stepped away from the computer. Jeannie May said the men who killed her were seen with Manny, but she didn't think he was letting them sleep in his home. She tried to keep it out of her head, Elest wasn't even sure if she'd be chasing after them with the happenings of this week, maybe it wouldn't be worth it now. It was just a courier run gone wrong, it didn't have to be personal.

There was no evidence to pin him as the prime suspect. She left his room quickly, not taking longer than five minutes.

Asking around didn't do her any justice. Elest even asked the Mcbrides, but for the most part, they were focused on the killings of their brahmin. No one seemed to know anything, which made sense when she thought about it, the guilty wouldn't pull off their mask and reveal themselves like in the cartoon reruns she remembered watching as a kid.

She was walking down the road to head back to her motel room when she caught a glimpse of a rugged man hiding behind the broken Repconn Rockets in front of the gas station. Out of curiosity, she approached.

The man she usually saw pacing the area and yelling at inanimate objects: No-Bark, or Noonan. He was crouching behind the objects with an apprehensive look, a small switchblade in hand. She was about to greet him before he staggered forward to slice her ankles.

"Shit!" She jumped back before he could do anything. The quick movement made a sharp pain run through her leg. After, he held the weapon up to threaten her from his place in the sand.

"Is you's with the hobgoblins?" He interrogated. "Knew they'd come for me eventually, I know too much, you see. The tails and toilets talk and now, here you are. I'm not going down without a fight, you'll see!"

"Okay, calm down, I just want to ask you some questions. Nothing to do with-" She frowned, trying not to grin "-with the hobgoblins, okay?"

He strained his lips, "hmmm," he wrinkled his stringy mustache, "nnnn- alright fine! Not too loud, you see? They're always listening! So you gotta whisper!" Said the man who was announcing that to the neighborhood. "But this better not be a dupe, I've heard of those goblins! They gain your trust and steal your pants!"

"Then we'll talk from here, I have no weapons, see?" She rose her hands up, empty. Even though she had that 10mm in her waistband, but he didn't need to know that. He didn't seem to like that answer either, the wrinkles on his forehead deepened.

". . . Are you sure? It's a bit hard to hear you."

"You just tried to stab me," she reminded, frowning.

"Okay, okay fine!" He huffed, pocketing his little knife. "Just speak up a little, only so! But not so much that  _They_ can hear you. They got people everywhere, even in the ground!"

Maybe it wasn't one of the best ideas to be asking a deranged man for information, but he was one of the only people left on her imaginary list to ask. "Did 'They' have anything to do with Boone's wife disappearance?" Maybe if she played into it then there would be a better outcome.

The man nodded profusely. "I'm sure of it! And I seen it all. The shadowy folk come to his room and leave again in the middle of the night. Thought one might've gone in the lobby too, for a spell. Could be that person went in to get something. Or use the john maybe. Mighty interesting either way, if you ask me." He reached up and smacked the back of his head, almost like he sensed something crawling on his neck. No-Bark then shifted closer, lowering his voice. "I thought it was cannibals, come to eat us all for sure, so I kept out of sight, but now I know better."

"You know who it was?" Something wasn't right. It didn't matter if the man was nutters, what he said was enough for her to investigate Jeannie May. If someone went through to the Front Desk after Boone's wife was kidnapped, then this whole situation was more out of mind than she first thought, and maybe even personal.

"Molerat men, come up from the Underneath to steal young women with promises of riches and fancy mud mansions with all the latest designer appliances." The words flooded out of his mouth before he shot two quick looks over his shoulder. "They covet our ladyfolk's long hair for wigs, it's said, being either bald or balding themselves!"  
  
"Well, thank you for the information," she said with a brooding smile. Elest couldn't help but watch his hand ghost over his pocket, where he had put his little knife. In the hopes of leaving as quickly as possible, she took her leave and hobbled to the gate. No-Bark called out from his place by the gas station, stretching his neck out over the missile: "If anyone asks, we never spoke!"

* * *

The remaining hours of the day were spent stalking the front desk.

Elest let Rex out some twenty minutes ago to let him run and sniff around after a quick lunch, but she tried not to stay too far away. As soon as Jeannie May left then she would break in.

There was something about her now, a few things clicked into place and now Elest couldn't think of it being any other person but her. When the sun shifted west, business slowed, and around six Jeannie left the building and headed for Andy's apartment. She had glass Tupperware in her hands, presumably filled with food. When she saw Elest on the stairs, she smiled and said hello.

Elest choked out words, but she wasn't sure what.

No one in the Wasteland was nice to strangers unless they wanted something from them, even then it was vague. Everyone had skeletons in their closets, some dustier than others, and it was usually the kind ones who were the most wicked behind closed doors. She'd know.

Elest watched the lady wobble in her high heels over the dirt, knocking on Andy's door before stepping in. She could be skeptical all she wanted, but until solid proof was acquired she couldn't do anything drastic.

Elest held Boone's beret tight between her fingers and watched Rex bark at a trade caravan passing the roads. She couldn't believe she was going off the rambles of the madman.

When the door closed behind Jeannie, Elest could only hope to be quick. Her leg felt like someone was poking a bundle of her nerves with a Thermic Lance when she started down the stairs.

For someone who could be guilty of selling a man's wife to Caesar's Legion, you'd think she'd lock the door after leaving. Looking twice over her shoulder, Elest shoved it open. It was dark inside, with the only light coming from the Sunset Sasperilla vending machine in the corner. She held her Status on her Pipboy to turn on her flashlight, making it easier to navigate around the pungent smelling room.

_if I was a mastermind criminal where would I hide all of my dirty secrets?_

Behind the front desk, a pre-war safe was built into the tile. The strip of red light above the keyhole told her that it was locked. It was hard to kneel down with the condition of her knee, but she bared through it. Fishing in the front pockets of her flannel for some of her spare bobby pins and the screwdriver that had been biting into the side of her foot since she investigated Manny's room. She broke a few pins, but with a bit more force she cracked it, pulling open the compressed latch.

Elest prodded around. Pocketing the spare caps and pre-war money inside, she grabbed the stapled pieces of paper at the bottom of the safe

**BILL OF SALE**

"Fuck." She continued reading, her heart barreled to her toes at the mentioning of an unborn child. Carla was pregnant when she was sold, and they paid five hundred caps extra for it. She rested her back against the counter, her eyes moving left-to-right.

Elest never got to see her Bill Of Sale, for all she knew it didn't exist since she was more a gift than anything else. She could imagine it though. It would say her mother's name, her sister's name, and probably have  **"NCR family"**  written somewhere on the document. Just because her mother was the Lieutenant of 1st Recon team Omega, and her father was a high-ranking Sergeant at Hoover Dam.

She got to her feet and tucked the document in her back pocket before kicking the safe closed. Checking the time with clenched teeth, Elest left the front desk. She needed fresh air, something that didn't smell of moth-eaten curtains and liquor

Rex was on the stairs waiting for her, he must've run himself tired while she was inside. She felt too sick to sweet-talk him and only followed him up to their room to let him inside.

Elest stayed on the staircase until the clock struck eight. Jeannie May left Andy's about fifteen minutes ago with a keen smile on her face; It looked sadistic and morbid now. She had to fight back the bile in her stomach when they met eyes, but she came and went. Soon Boone's apartment door opened and he submerged from the darkness. Elest's back straightened and she fought the urge to jump down and show him the evidence, but for their safety it had to wait, she knew that.

Five minutes after Boone went inside the Dino Bite Gift Shop, Elest sought out Jeannie May. Marching down the road to her home and knocking on the door, she faked her worry when speaking breathlessly that there was something in front of the dinosaur that she needed to see, and Jeannie followed out immediately. They trotted towards their destination in silence. Twas something Elest could find content in, she didn't want to remember the last words of a slave trading bitch.

The stockpiled rocks and rubble on by the curve in the road was where they stopped. Elest glanced up at the dinosaur's mouth to see Boone's outline. He was watching them, meaning it was her move.

Elest held the beret to her chest before speaking. "It's right there." She said, moving the beret on top of her head. "On the-" The sound of the gun cut her off, she closed her eyes tight just in time for the gun to fire. The bullet ran through Jeannie's head and out the other side, she fell dead. Elest's left ear corked with white noise. Opening her eyes she saw Jeannie's lifeless body on the cement, blood was leaking down in a small stream from the hole in her forehead with blood gushing out to the dirt. Her ankle was twisted from her heel, it must have broken with the fall.

She smeared off the blood on her chin and looked away. The gunshot wouldn't send people running, when night fell in the Wasteland it was normal to hear them out in the night. The only issue would come morning. Elest made her way back into the courtyard, her skin blanching. She hated death, even with the ones who deserved it.

"So, that's it then," Boone said, his hands tight around his rifle, he was shaking from adrenaline. "How'd you know?"

Elest pulled the Bill Of Sale from her pocket and handed it to him. "I found this in her safe."

Boone grabbed it from her hands and unfolded it. She watched him read, silence creeping over as she watched the tension in his eyebrows lessen from relief. This was what he'd been waiting for, he released a shaking breath he must've been holding. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised." He folded it back up and stuffed it in his pocket. "It would be like them to keep paperwork. Huh. . ." He kept his silence, fumbling around before pulling out a bundle of NCR bills from his person. From the looks of it, there must've been a bit over two hundred. Something that could help her pay for Rex's surgery. "Here. This is all I can give."

He seemed like an honorable man, Elest didn't want him to think she pitied him. "Thanks," she replied taking the cash and handing him his beret back. It felt wrong in her hands. "What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know." He placed his beret on his head. "I won't be staying. Don't see too much point in anything now, except hunting legionaries." He paused with that response. Maybe she should've expected that, for him to throw his fate to the Legion. "Maybe I'll wonder, like you."

What did wandering mean to him? This guy, Boone. He seemed like the type who'd lost so much that going straight into a Legion fort was a nice way to spend a Friday afternoon. Probably talking to him made her name echo all the way to Flagstaff. He could get her killed. He could get her  _worse_ than killed, but she was too stubborn to walk away. She had never met someone who hated the Legion like he did.

"Why don't you come with me? If it's pissing off the Legion you want, then I can help."

He didn't even skip a beat. "You don't want to do that."

"Thought snipers worked in pairs."

She tied his tongue with that one, he almost cracked a grin. "Hmph, yeah. Working on your own, you're a lot less effective. I've been there and paid for it. But this isn't gonna end well." It didn't matter. Nothing could get worse from here. He exhaled. "Fine, let's get out of here."

She just assigned herself a coffin buddy. She knew Caesar's legion wouldn't give them the courtesy of having their own graves, not even that. "I'll get my dog and bag. I'll meet you in front of the gates."

After she left the sniper's nest, she got to thinking. The last thing Arcade would want her doing was getting wrapped up with the Legion, especially after what happened in the dried up lake. Elest clenched her jaw and continued down the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave kudos and comments!


	2. Sleepless, Eyeless, But Not Douglas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry everyone! I kinda fucked up the map and forgot where the dry lake was as well as Helios one and didn't realize Elest wouldn't have passed through the Dry Lake to get to Novac. If you don't care for landmarks then yay! If you do? Sucks for you.
> 
> I'm surprised people actually read this as it was supposed to be me trying to cure myself of my *intense* love for Rex, Boone, and FNV all together.  
>       
> Anyhow, this is all too confusing as I haven't explained Elest's whole backstory involving the Legion. But that may just be me, read the first part in the series for further explanation!  
>       
> ⚠⚠⚠ Trigger Warning for drug use, violence, and sexual abuse ⚠⚠⚠

Boone was at the gate in under thirty minutes in a set of fresh clothes. He didn’t have much more on him except an extra dozen cases of ammunition laced around his torso like a seatbelt. Elest didn’t question it, especially with how excited Rex was to see the same stranger twice in one day, his tail wagged and his ears perked up.

They were gone before the clock struck nine.

“Andy asked me to check on the ranger’s at Station Charlie, “she said, clicking to her status on her Pipboy to see if it still said her leg was crippled, it did, she wasn’t sure why it surprised her.

“He thinks they're in trouble?”

“That or they've grown tired of radioing him.” Which she couldn't bring herself to believe. Andy was a nice man, and the soldiers wouldn't leave him hanging like that. “Rangers are strong, I doubt anything happened to them.”

“There’s a chance. Stations are easy targets,” he spoke. They moved down the street and followed the old railroad tracks heading southwest. Their pace was slow due to her leg, but Boone didn’t seem bothered by it. The motel soon faded behind the houses with the head of the dinosaur being the only thing visible. “The NCR relies on a handful of soldiers to look over large terrains, if the Legion is wanting to hit down the NCR in the Mojave, outposts would be their best move.”

Elest grimaced. He wasn’t wrong, she just didn’t think she would hear an NCR soldier say something like that. It almost sounded like he was egging the Legion on, daring them to bite off more and more. “Sounds like you’re expecting the Legion to wipe them out.”

“If they are, then I want to be there to kill some of the bastards.”

She thought about it for a second. Arcade would say the exact opposite, tell them to run for the hills if the Legion showed up in their sights. Elest could feel his words feeding into her resentment. Maybe she wanted to be there too.

The rails continued on, but they stopped at the entrance to the station. Everything was quiet, so much that you could hear the tumbleweeds rustling. Usually, you would see a ranger or two pacing on top of the office building with a rifle in hand, but no one was there. The air held the scent of burning wood and tires; the stockpiled trailers throughout the outpost creaked and groaned as they settled, giving the place an eerie atmosphere.

“Don’t like the look of this,” Boone said, clicking back the safety on his sniper.

“Me neither.” She said, pulling her 10mm from her waistband. They looked around for any signs of life. Elest would believe that the place was abandoned if it hadn’t been for the supplies left behind. She saw Rexy sniffing at a ranger’s hat off the side of a ruined pre-war car and splatters of blood, but that was it.

“Anything?” She asked Boone once both of them met up by the office, he shook his head.

With their guns held firm, they stepped inside the station’s housing. The smell hit them like air-conditioning on a hot day. Blood splattered on the walls and ceiling like an art project gone wrong, the lighting was red from the blood on the naked lightbulbs. The dead trooper on the floor must’ve been bludgeoned to death, with the state of his face it may have been a sledgehammer. A red bull was smeared above the desk to let anyone who found the bodies know who did this.

“Goddamn Legion,” Boone said beside her. Elest covered her mouth, the flies buzzed around the trooper’s corpse as they readied themselves to feast. The radio blasting cheery songs made her stomach churn. She’ll never be able to listen to Stars Of The Midnight Ranger the same way ever again.

If Rex wasn’t as curious as he was, she wouldn’t have shut the door behind her. They avoided the blood on the floor, it looked like a thin coat of cream spread over the ground, which gave them an idea of how long the station had been in this condition. Elest hadn’t moved her hand from her mouth, “holotape,” she choked out, “there’s a holotape on those boxes.” Reaching out to steady herself on the desk. She could see another body by the bathroom door that was face down in their own blood. “Shit,” she pinched her nose. The smell was atrocious.

With her flannel over her nose, Elest grabbed the holotape and checked to see if there was any writing on the outside. There was crusted blood on the label, but nothing more. She fumbled with it, “Hold on, I’m going to play this.”

Boone hesitated, his nose was crinkling. “Yeah, okay.”

She swallowed, shoving it into her Pipboy and clicking to her data to find the recording. It loaded up as ‘Ranger Station Radio Log 2’. Elest wasn’t sure if she wanted to know where the other one was. She enabled it and turned up her volume.

An austere male voice started out the log. “This is a message to the NCR from the Legion.” Both of them visibly tensed. There were sounds in the background, muffled screaming and crying that was coming from another room. “We are coming for you. Run, and we will catch you. Hide, and we will find you. No matter what you do, you are all going to die.”

There was a silence, a pause where you could hear what was going on behind his voice. Some of the soldiers weren’t dead, and they were being beaten, or worse, Elest didn’t want to think about it.

“We took one of the women alive.”

With that, the holotape ended with a ‘click’ and it popped out of her Pipboy. Chills made the hairs on her arm stand up. Elest grabbed it and put it back on the box. “Dammit,” her hands pulled at her hair.

Looking over at Boone, even he seemed affected. His lip looked like it was about to start twitching, “Look around to see if we can find any leads to where these sick fucks were going.”

Elest’s first thought when they started looking around was that this place couldn’t get any worse. She was wrong. Both of them found out the hard way that the Legionaries found some of the NCR’s landmines and hid them around the outpost. When they walked too close to the body by the desk, an alarming beeping sound started going off. Boone pulled her to the side before it exploded. The ranger’s body underneath took most of the damage. It severed his head and left arm from the rest of his corpse, sending the appendages across the room. Like the walls needed any more blood.

There was another landmine under the body in the bathroom, snuggled against their dislocated shoulder.

The room on the left wall was destroyed. The table inside was toppled and the oil lamp was shattered on the floor. A checkerboard was flipped and the pieces were all around the room. Empty whiskey bottles, glasses, cigarette buds, and two bodies face down on the tiles. One man and one woman, both of them were completely nude. The man’s face was splattered with blood, the other had her eyes carved out. One of the bunk beds were toppled over making it clear that they had struggled before their death.

Elest went to check the lockers between a set of bunk beds. With her back to the corpses, she didn’t have to see the gore. There was nothing in them except empty ammunition casings and a broken coffee mug handle.

“Shit, they fucking took pictures,” Boone muttered.

“What?” She turned around. He had a camera in hand with at least a dozen photos stacked on top of each other. Curiosity got the best of her and she walked over to look.

“Oh,” she covered her mouth. Elest could feel her stomach start to churn. In the first picture, one of the legionaries were fucking the ranger. Her eyes were roughly cut out of her head with blood leaking down her temples, leaving nothing but black sockets angled to the camera, mouth open with a silent scream. The only thing they learned from the photos was that at least three Legionaries were to blame for the massacre, four if you count the cameraman.

The more photos he flipped through, the more explicit it got. “Stop,” she demanded, grabbing the pictures from him. The crude way the ranger was positioned made her throat tight and her stomach knot so hard she almost doubled over. Elest couldn’t believe there was a time that became something ordinary. They would have to burn the photos the first chance they got.

She gave herself a moment to catch her breath and wash her mind out. “Do you think the Legionaries destroyed the radio?”

“Don’t know,” Boone replied, his voice taut. “Breaking it wouldn’t make a difference.”

“Then we need to check.” Anything to get out of that room. She shoved the graphic photos in her back pocket and walked out. She tried not to look at the bodies to her left and moved straight to the Ham radio on the desk. Careful not to slip on any of the blood, she could see a holotape in front of the Five-star base of the office chair.

Blood was stuck in the crevices of the radio which made the microphone stick to the receiver when she picked it up. The buttons and dials were stiff but it still produced static when she switched stations. Elest hadn’t seen this type of radio in years. The Legion never used the pre-war technology unless it was absolutely necessary, Lucius said Caesar thought these gadgets would make an army weak. And that in the end, the Brotherhood and Enclave were nothing without their lasers and plasma, same with NCR.

Elest thought it was stupid. Using a truck to get around instead of your legs didn’t make you stronger, it just made you slow. It was a matter of efficiency.

She hadn’t used a Walkie Talkie or any type of radio since her and Arcade were in Vault 34. Even then, the radios were just handheld. The PTT was viscid, but she got it to work. “Andy, can you hear this?” She asked, feeling like she was talking to herself. Boone reached over and adjusted the volume for her.

“I’ll repeat. Andy, can you hear this?”

Elest paused, looking over at Boone who shook his head. He was probably going to tell her that it was no use, especially at this hour, but the static faltered and a man’s voice replied.

“Boy am I glad to hear someone on this station. You guys alright down there? Anything new?” His relief even traveled over the transmitting, Elest looked over at Boone, with the look he had, she knew they were thinking the same thing. Shit.

“Andy, this is Elest.” She didn’t know how else to say it. That was more than likely enough for him to know that the news wasn’t good. The wavelength was quiet, longer than it would take to send a message.

“Dammit,” he replied. “What happened?”

“The Legion. They painted their flag on the wall in blood, left photos, and a holotape.” Elest paused, she knew the NCR wouldn’t send a search party out for one ranger that was taken by the Legion. She didn’t want Ranger Andy to lose any more sleep at night than he already did. “There were no survivors.”

Boone frowned at her, but she knew he understood.

“Those were good men,” He replied despondently. Elest held the microphone to her chin and closed her eyes. “This whole town was sleeping a lot easier because of them. Now, who knows what we’re in for? The Legion? Christ. . . We’d be better off with raiders.”

“I’ll go talk to the soldiers at Helios One, tell them that Novac could be in danger.

“No, no. Leave it to me.” Andy cut in. “Gotta make myself useful somehow. . . Thanks for doing this for me, I know the knowledge didn’t come without risk. You’re a good kid.”

Signing off, Elest moved to rub her eyes. “We need to get out of here. I’m going to throw up.”

There wasn’t much to argue. Elest decided to bring the Legion holotape with as well as the photos, as soon as they lit up a campfire she would use them as fuel.

When they left, Rexy was jumping at her thighs with his tail, swinging back and forth like a windshield wiper. Too happy for her right now, she still couldn’t get those photos out of her head.

There were four bodies in that house and for all they knew, their killers would go unpunished. Likely to be rewarded by their leader. The three of them continued southeast through the flat land enclosed by hills. Boone stopped and surveyed it. “This would be a perfect spot for an ambush,” he said from beside her, his gun rifle in his hands. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the Legionaries were up on those ridges when they took out the Rangers on patrol.”    

“The rangers in the station would have heard the shots, and there were no bodies outside.” She reminded. It only sprouted more questions for them. “Unless they burned the bodies. . .” Elest trailed off, she stared off into the distance. “Anyway, this leaves a lot of lands open.”

Elest hated taking jobs so close to the southeast, even Novac or Nelson was out of her comfort if she was going to be honest. It’s like the world sped up after she got shot. Primm was invaded by convicts, Nipton and Nelson were turned into sinkholes by the Legion, she didn’t want to know what was next, maybe the Mojave Outpost.

“We’ll set up camp on that hill, It gives us a good view, we’ll see our enemies first,” She advised, her duffel bag hanging by her feet, her shoulders were getting tired and it was late. The last thing Elest should be doing after what happened with those Legion assassins is travel so close to the east when the sun was down.

The sand was unsteady under her shoes, so much that Boone took hold of her bag so she could focus more on keeping her balance. The terrain was unsafe, and if they valued their lives, they would’ve just taken the walk back to Novac for some decent sleep. Elest hadn’t camped out in a while, several months maybe. It was something she never did alone unless she was too high to think about it.

They set up an easy camp, something uncomfortable but it would work. Elest had most of the necessities in her bag as well as trash to burn, empty cram boxes and degrading Tupperware.

Elest sat across from Boone and pulled the holotape and photos from her back pocket to set them in the pending campfire. Boone used her last row of matches to start up the fire, scraping the match against the manumark. Rex curiously sniffed at the empty box of Cram but Elest shoved his nose away when the match lit up with a flame.

Boone didn’t talk much, but it was good to have someone at her side again. She only ever had the utmost trust in Arcade to watch her back. When he left, everything immediately started to fall apart. She should’ve expected it, but it didn’t matter how much she wanted to prove him wrong, to show him that she could survive out here without him. If that Legion attack wasn’t just a miserable coincidence then Elest shouldn’t be walking the Wasteland on her own, or shouldn’t even be in the Mojave at all.

Boone held the flame to the box until it caught onto the cardboard. The fire grew rapidly, to blackening the box and starting on the points of a plastic fork. He leaned back to settle in the sand, dusting his hands off on his thighs.

Elest stared deep into the fire, watching the flames eat holes in the morbid pictures. The one with the eyeless ranger with her legs spread apart was first to blacken from the heat.

They watched the evidence become fire fuel.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” She asked after a moment of silence. The plastic holotape was starting to get a wet look to it, and the glass in the center cracked. Boone’s sunglasses glinted with the reflection of the fire, and the shadows played on his face, giving his beard a darker look. “Does. . . Does this make you a criminal?”

He shook his head. “No, people die out here. Lately, it’s been more about forgetting it ever happened than trying to find the culprit.” He paused, pulling the ammunition clip from his Hunting rifle to check it’s fitting. “I can’t say what the Legion would think of it. Might be obvious to them.”

If they didn’t have an appetite before, they certainly didn’t now. A lot happened today, more than Elest wanted to think about, and now knowing the name of the man who shot her: Benny, she thought it would make her care. That she would chase him down and give him his just desserts because after all, it was his bullets that led her to the Legion in Nipton. The issue felt so small now.

She dug around the clutter in her bag, shifting her wounded leg into a position that didn’t make her knee feel like it was kept together by needle and thread. She found a four-day-old slab of Gecko meat in a container for Rex to chew on.

Setting it in front of him, his tail was wagging with his tongue sagging out of his face. He wolfed it down like he hadn’t eaten all day. She watched him stick his nose to the bottom of the container so hard that it began sliding against the sand.

“Have you had him long?” Boone asked. Elest hadn’t realized how long she’d been staring at Rex, watching him with a sullen look on her face.

“Over a year,” She quietly replied. “The King and I worked out a deal, I’ll fix his dog and he doesn’t ban me from Freeside,” she adjusted the gauze around her knee. Why’d the King cared if the Silver Rush were taken out? She didn’t know. Especially since they did dealings with Caesar’s Legion as long as it benefited them. It wasn’t a fight the King had to deal with. The Van Graff family would just want Cass and Elest’s heads on a silver platter, not his.

Elest still had her suspicions that Pacer convinced the King to throw her out. The son of a bitch would fuck over anyone if it gave him a bigger nest to squat in, even if he would never admit it.  
  
“Could’ve been worse,” he replied, taking his shades off to clean the panels with the end of his shirt. “He seems like a nice dog.”

She nodded. “He is, but he’s also sick. The doctor in Jacobstown said I need to find him a brain replacement, that Lady Gibson is the first person I should check.” She nearly forgot about that one, today had been busy enough to cloud her head. Cursing under her breath, she continued. “Funny, the King is one of the richest men in Freeside, but he won’t scrape up some caps to buy his own dog a brain and the surgery, that I apparently have to do _myself_.”

“Sounds like a piece of work.” He set his glasses down on the sand beside him, Rex was staring deeply at him, his dinner was nothing but saliva clumped to the ground. “Hold on, you’re talking about the leader of the Kings. You know him?”  

“Yeah, I know him.” Elest unzipped her duffel bag to search for her water canteen, “I know he’s a son of a bitch that can’t tell Sasparilla from Cola. He calls The Kings ‘Freeside’s last hope’ but they won’t protect anyone associated with NCR.” Finding her water inside her doctor’s bag, she saw her last few Jet inhalers hidden underneath it. Her breathing hitched and her chest tightened at the sight of them, but she tried to push it out of mind.

It still pissed her off. There are more serial killers per cubic yard in Freeside than there is at a Legion base, yet she was the one being singled out. Bullshit is what it is. Dixon had good people overdosing every week but since he’s a local, the King lets him stay.

“He must have seen you as one cold-hearted bitch to want to ban you from Freeside.” Boone sounded more disgusted than anything. Maybe he thought she was caught trafficking underage girls to Gomorrah, or that she laced the water supply with bleak venom. He leaned his elbows onto his thighs, the fire crackled and popped, startling Rex. “What’d you do?”

“I protected my friend.” She unscrewed the cap on her canteen and took a drink. Offering it to him, he stared at her for a second, maybe he was weighing the odds that she was telling the truth. Boone took the water from her hand. Rexy licked his jabs and grabbed the rest of the gecko steak to drag it closer to Elest so he could snuggle against her leg.

Not much was spoken in the following minutes. Elest went rooting around inside Arcade’s old doctor’s bag for the role of gauze she bought from Dr. Straus, she’d need to have it on hand so she could change the wrap as soon as she woke up.

The cloth was already sticking to her knee from gathering blood and puss. It made her miss Arcade’s expertise. If he were here, he’d tell her to clean it now and let it breathe for a few minutes before bandaging it up for bed. He’d be livid, seeing that Dr. Straus just shot her up with Med-X and wrapped the wound without thinking about a possible infection. Nonetheless, he wasn’t here and probably wouldn’t be for a long time. The most she had was his first set of supplies and a few super Stimpaks if things got ugly, but she’d rather have the self-deprecating scientist than his trash.

“I’ll take first watch. You should get some rest.”

“Don’t you need rest too?” She found the bandage underneath a change of clothes and looked up at him. He was pulling back the bolt handle on his gun with a stern look.

“Not now. We’re close to Legion patrol land, it’s best that I stay alert in case one comes through.”

“Usually, in order to stay alert, one would get a good night’s rest.”

“Hm.” Must’ve humored him with that one. “Probably, we’ll have to find out.”

“Then wake me up and I’ll take watch before we head out,” she replied with a grin. Rex grew uncomfortable with his head resting on her hip and moved to plop down on her left thigh. “You won’t kill or leave me here in my sleep, will you?’

That question made him look at her. His eyebrows furrowing together and he cocked his gun. “Not unless you give me a reason to.”

Somehow that relieved some tension building in her mind and shoulders, even if he was planning to end her life on the road it’s not like he would tell her. The campfire was starting to make her sweat, causing her flannel to cling uncomfortably to her arms, she unbuttoned it and removed it, careful to not let it catch on her Pipboy before stuffing it in her bag.

She forgot to close her doctor’s kit, so it was still sitting on top of her pre-war books and she could see the Jet inhalers sitting there and looking more tempting than a brahmin burger. Elest mentally cursed herself to hell before making a grab for the drugs.

Her finger ran over the overcap, careful not to press on it. She only had two left, which bothered her more than she cared to admit. For the longest time she let them sit at the bottom of her bag and fucking rot, but now she was treating it like rationed purified water. Arcade would kill her if he found out she was using again, he would wring her up on one of those pre-war power lines and crack open her head like it was a piñata. After a second of hesitation, Elest pulled the plastic cover off of the mouthpiece and tossed it into the fire, catching Boone’s attention.

“What are you doing?” He asked, watching her try to engulf the inhaler in her hand, like a child caught with their and inside a bag of sweets, she looked up.

“My knee hurts, and I need to sleep.”

“Yeah, great excuse. So you’re an addict?” His forthrightness had her shifting in her boots. She was only forthright about her issues of Jet with Cass and Arcade, but most of that she didn’t have much of a choice. Elest wouldn’t call herself an addict, or at least not anymore. Maybe before the followers took her in when she was living off the streets, but not now.

“User is a kinder term, you know,” Elest grumbled, hoping that she didn’t sound too defensive. Her hand moved to scratch under Rex’s ears. “It’s just a wind-down, don’t worry about it.”

“Worry yourself. ” There was a spiteful undertone to that sentence. “You were just talking about having to pay for your dog’s brain surgery, so you better not waste your caps on any of that shit while I’m here.”

“I won’t,” She retaliated, eyebrows pinching together. He didn’t respond, likely hoping that his words got through to her. Elest clicked on her Pipboy to browse the radio stations. It wasn’t a big deal. Some Jet was designed to wind you up, but not all Jet had to have Nuka Cola in it to create a euphoria high where you can't rest. It’s what a lot of Junkies wanted, especially Fiends. Dixon always pushed that type of shit back in Freeside, called it his “Special Brew” when all it did was enhance your chances of overdose. Elest hovered her finger over the Mojave radio before taking a quick glance at Boone.

“I’m still going to use it, you know. If it makes you uncomfortable I can turn around.”

He just stared at her, Elest wouldn’t be surprised if he reached over and grabbed it from her hands. Cass did that before.

“That’s your funeral.”

The warning of her losing her life didn't mean much to her until the Rexy who was snoozing on her lap came to mind. She looked down at the inhaler in her hands. “Thanks. I'll use it repentantly for your peace of mind."

Her sarcasm made Boone's lip twitch with unspoken words. Bringing the Jet to her mouth, her finger twitched over the overcap before squeezing down. Boone decided to reply in that moment, but her pupils contracted and her ears flooded. Suddenly she was hearing his words through water. Such a familiar sensation felt in such times of stress you’d wonder why it was still welcoming. Elest swallowed, her mouth was warmer than the rest of her body and her torso swayed while she weakly tossed the empty inhaler in the fire.

_Fucking lightweight. Can’t even keep your head straight._

The first minute is always the most intense. Elest tried to hum to what she hoped was a good thing to agree to. She steadily slumped to her side on her duffel bag, it disturbed Rex and he moved off her thighs with offense. It would be more trouble to try and put on the radio so she could fall asleep to her childhood tunes.

Elest tried to mutter out the words "Good night", but when folding the syllables together she probably just sounded like that drunk: Vagrant outside Mick and Ralph's.

This was a well-needed push in the wrong direction to get some sleep. Arcade would hate it, and it seemed Boone did too. It didn’t matter now. Her duffel bag was a horrible pillow but she didn’t have half the mind to adjust it. It was the price to pay to forget her fears for the night. Forget Lucius, forget the Legion, and the healing bullet holes in her forehead, all of it.

* * *

 

Boone’s first assumption about Elest was that she was stupid.

She helps a man she knows nothing about by killing a Legion slaver, obviously unaware of the danger it could put her in with Caesar’s Legion.She then volunteers to help him take the fight to the Legion, which is a deathwish for even the most capable. Now she was here, sleeping under the influence with the only ones protecting her being her sickly dog and a stranger. Boone said he wouldn’t kill her, but she had no real reason to believe him.

There weren’t many motives she would have him tag along, besides his first guess. Maybe she pitied him, or maybe he pitied her since he went along with it. One of those “fresh out of the Vault” kids looking for an adventure that isn’t hers. She’s just some young girl running around the Wasteland with a limp and a dying dog, she had vulnerable written all over her. God knows what would happen if he didn’t take up her offer and let her leave Novac on her own.

The smell of Jet coming from here stayed until the campfire died down, an acidic vinegar smell that made him wrinkle his nose. She was restless, like a whimpering coyote pup abandoned by its mother. Nevertheless, the terrain was quiet and unbothered other than couriers running past and caravans slugging along. Which was a shame, Boone was hoping for a band of Legionary Explorers to get in the way of his scope. He didn’t trust it, even as the sun rose.

Rex woke up minutes before she did, sleepily trotting to the ashes of the fire and lifting his leg to mark his territory on it. Suppose that’s one way to clean up their tracks.

Elest released a grunt, moving her arm up to rub the restlessness from her eyes. “Morning,” Boone said, aiming down his scope to check the roads heading east to make sure nothing moved. Being on the hills gave them a good view of the east and the main roads, they also had a good view of the gathering day which was currently just a baby blue strip over the horizon.

Looking at her Pipboy, she saw it was a quarter to five. It was more sleep than she’d gotten since her early days, which she wouldn’t complain about, but she would complain about the dreams. There were some things she just couldn’t escape no matter how many drugs she took.

“You didn’t wake me up,” she said. Her voice was groggy and head still spilling with the face of her dead mother. Elest straightened her back, her spine popped twice which felt like heaven in its own way.

“I’m still on my night shift schedule, would’ve been a waste.” He retracted from his scope, disappointed. “Besides, I’m not tired.” Hell, even if he wanted to, sleep wasn’t as comforting like it was when Carla kept the bed warm. He could hear her now, tsking while wrapping her arms around his shoulders murmuring to him how " sleepless Craig isn't a happy Craig" and giving his neck a squeeze. She would ask why but he could never tell her, he couldn’t tell anyone. “Are we heading out?”

“Yeah, give me a second.” Elest checked the radar on her Pipboy to see if any threats were nearby before looking in her bag for Arcade’s old medical equipment. Maybe she shouldn’t have waited the whole night to switch out the gauze, considering the steady throb taking over the course of her leg. Pulling off the old bandage with a pained grunt. If she wasn’t careful then it would start bleeding again, and by hell was she done with blood. Rex looked at her, tilting his head to the side with suspicion at her disgruntlement.

“You alright?”

Elest grit her teeth, fingers pulling open the top of the broken doctor’s bag “Peachy.” If she could smack her knee into submission then she would. She pulled out a can of spray ointment lying comfortably on top of a rag taken from an old T-shirt. “My leg’s a bastard.”

“I see that.” He kicked at the ashes of the fire to scatter them, she hesitantly moved the valve close to her skin. “What happened to it?”

Spraying the ointment directly on her wound, she fought back every nasty word on the tip of her tongue, and gritted her teeth. “I got into a fight and ran out of bullets.” It wasn’t a lie, you can’t really fight against four legionaries with nothing but a handgun and a faulty rifle. Doctor Mitchell’s Vit-o-Matic Vigor Tester really wasn’t lying when it said she was a lucky gal, but not too lucky, that was obvious now. Elest delicately wrapped the bandage around her inflamed joint, tying it behind her kneecap. "There we go! I'm basically a certified doctor."

Looking at her fatuous grin, he didn’t push for any more answers, not that he cared to. One of the rules he set in motion for himself was the less you inquire about a person's past, the less they’ll feel obligated to yours.

They were quick to move. The main road wasn’t too far from here, but Legionaries were known to come through from time to time, so they made it a priority to be cautious. When Elest would travel on her own, she’d turn on the New Vegas radio to quicken time, but Boone didn’t seem to thrilled with that idea.

“Maybe later,” he said, whenever that would be.

Years ago silence was something of a virtue, but now it was nothing to be trusted. Still, Elest knew it was better to not be distracted, especially with the looming threat of a Legion attack, apparently for both of them.

Rexy pranced on ahead of them to chase after a mole rat that dug itself out of the ground shaded by a honey mesquite tree. He was just happy to be up and walking after a good rest, so much that he didn’t mind the cowboy hat she put on her head in preparation for the sun.

The dinosaur in Novac looked welcoming, but now being aware of the skeletons some of the townsfolk had, it was a bit queasy to look at. “I know what I said about the Legion, but I need to talk to Gibson about my dog.”

He looked at the old lady’s junkyard down the road, a furlong away from Helios One. He nodded, “If you’ve met her before then you know how much she charges.”

“I’ve done some work for her in the past, so I’m hoping she’ll give me a discount.” But Elest had her doubts, a brain from one of her dogs wasn’t something Gibson would likely negotiate a price range about. She looked at her Pipboy nervously, the last time she loaded up all her junk into inventory was when her forehead was still scabless. 197 caps.

And adding that with the one hundred in NCR cash she got from Boone for his dirty work, Elest only had 297 caps. That or 247, since NCR money isn’t worth the same in the Mojave as it is in say, Shady Sands. Either way, there’s a high chance that she’ll have to come back with more caps.

God knows she didn’t want to use that “offer” the Garret twins had on the table for her in thanks for taking out the Silver Rush, but Elest was starting to think that was her only option. Time was running out quick, for her _and_ Rex.

It was an early morning with the sun only starting to rise above the eastern hills, but there was no rest of the Wicked. Gibson was opening the front door to her metal home and taking a box of scrap metal out to her junkyard, two of her dogs were at her feet with their tails wagging like that box had a dozen dog treats inside.

Rex went wild, ears shooting to the sky with his tail smacking against Boone’s leg. He scrambled towards his fellow dogs, barking like a baboon. The last time he saw another dog was sometime in August. It belonged to a fiend and was more interested in tearing open his neck than sniffing his ass.

Rexy made a good impression, saying hello before Elest and Boone got up the driveway. The old woman held the boxes up and above her head to look down at the dogs. “Fiel you-” Gibson stepped to the side to get away from the excitable dogs, spotting Rex and then the both of them making their way to her. “Oh, hello there! Can I get a bit of-”

“Yeah.” Boone stepped forward and took the box from her shaking hands. Gibson thanked him and gave her hands a quick rub, she then nudged Fiel’s snout away from her kneecap.

“You two must’ve gotten an early morning,” Gibson said, catching her breath. That task a bit heavy on her old bones. She admired the impressive machinery making up Rex’s backside and his three legs. “Oh, a Denver police dog. You must be far from home”

“No, I got him close to Vegas.” Otherwise, Elest kept her tongue. Caesar’s Legion came through there years ago and took charge of the city, it was a deathwish to go dog shopping there with her situation and gender. “A man named Doctor Henry said you could help me. I need a new brain for my dog.”

“Doctor Henry?” She echoed, the wrinkles on her forehead deepened when her eyes widened. “Well, that’s a name I haven’t heard in years! Nice to hear he’s still alive. As for your request, uh. . .” Gibson looked down at her two dogs and her front door. “It’s ghoulish, but my dog Rey is getting old and I’ll have to put him down soon enough. He’s like family but I’ll name my price, eight hundred.”

She should’ve expected such a price, especially since time was always wasted when you didn’t have enough of it. “Well, I’m about six hundred caps short of that. Think this transaction can wait?”

“Oh well, I don’t think anyone will be coming around with your same request, so yes.” Her eyes crinkled when she grinned, and Elest didn’t know why she felt the need to be so cheerful. Especially since she just asked the lady to kill her dog.

“As for you,” she turned to Boone who was still kindly holding her box of scrap metal, “I’ll take that back now, thank you for letting me rest my arms.” She was always an odd woman, but she was kind and that’s all that rang for Elest. “You two run along now, I haven’t even had my breakfast!”

Rex was reluctant to leave all the happy-go-lucky hounds with the same fur length as him, it reminded Elest that she didn’t give him enough time to be a dog.

  
_Just hang in there bud, we’re almost there._ She thought to herself ruefully, watching him look back at Gibson’s scrapyard as they continued down the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that was okay! I spent Two hours proof-reading it and fussing so I just went with the hunch of "It'll sound good to other people". 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for further editing and leave a kudo and comment!


	3. Different Shoots For Different Troops

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You fooled me from the start when you let me start to love you. It’s like a bunch of broken picture frames. But the photo still remains the same. And I, I thought it’d be easy to run, but my legs are broken."  
> -The Neighbourhood, Leaving Tonight

The sun scorched the already roasted wasteland, so much that the earth broke under her shoes like peanut brittle. Despite the clouds in the sky all day, it did zero to protect them from the weather. Scavenging wasn’t her sort of thing, she shunned it really. Old houses and buildings could have anything in them, from radscorpions to newborn deathclaws, but she’d sell her kidney to get someplace with a decent temperature.

Four locations likely already searched ages ago. At most, they found scrap metal, a new book for her collection, pre-war money, and thirty bottle caps. It wasn’t much, especially for a day’s worth, however, it’s something. 

Elest hadn’t been this close to Camp Searchlight in ten years, so much that she didn’t know if anyone still lived here or if the NCR abandoned it after the invasion. On highway 95 they passed by Clark field infested to the high end with golden geckos. It was difficult fighting while beneath the cruel sun, Elest wanted to throw her varmint rifle to the sand when it jammed and then fired on its own while she searched for the reason. Boone showed to be more help than she ever could’ve dreamed, so much that she shot only one of the little beasts before he took charge. Elest was well aware of him being a 1st Recon, but it had been so long since she’d seen how nasty they were in a fight. 

She trusted his ability enough to stop and take her flannel off during battle, something she wanted to do hours ago but instead needed to shield her skin from the sun. Her shorts were riding up her thighs and clinging to the sweat housed where the sun don’t shine. Elest knotted the flannel around her middle. She’d kill to have All-American back instead of this pea-shooter rifle she got from Sunny Smiles. Heaven knows what Benny and those Khans did with it, they didn’t bury her with it. They probably traded it for a pretty penny, or maybe that pansy used it to replace the shitty handgun he tried to kill her with. 

Her jaw tensed at the idea of him, she decided to ignore it. 

“Want me to aim that for you next time?” Boone asked, his breathing shallow. The commotion subsided and they heard the New Vegas radio singing from her Pipboy, but Frank Sinatra couldn’t help with her temper this time.

Rexy ran past her with his tail swinging, searching for a suitable gecko to make a meal out of. “Sure, bottle and burp me too while you’re at it,” she retaliated, something Elest could bet he’d rolled his eyes to, she couldn’t tell with his sunglasses. 

Practically panting for breath, she sat down on the cement, removing her cowboy hat from her head. “How are you still fucking standing? You got ice in your pants?” Her attitude started to spoil after their chat with Gibson yesterday, and the heat wasn’t encouraging the mess to sweeten either. Boone didn’t answer, pulling his rifle’s strap over his head. “What? You aren’t going to share with the rest of the class?”

“No.” A curt response to her hostility. Elest learned fast that Boone didn’t enjoy her witty conversation. He seemed hell-bent on having one thing on his mind: killing legionaries. “Nevada’s known for its heat.” He sat down by her, setting his gun on his knees before taking an ammunition clip from the belt around his chest.

"Gee! I’d never guess that, all this time I thought it was the fucking strippers." She plopped her duffel bag on the concrete, causing Rex to whimper with her strong actions. Elest mopped the sweat from her forehead, her bangs clumping together. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” He tossed his empty ammunition case on the cement. “When I served, you had to get used to the heat. Both in California and the Mojave.”

“Which ones worse?” She asked, opening her bag to look for something to eat. Scavenging could make one hungry, primarily because the only one who ate today was Rex. Elest turned down the broadcast when she heard I’m So Blue playing again, as much as she loved that song, it only reminded her of her mother. 

“Depends, both had their moments.” He loaded his new 308. Rounds in his rifle. “My team was stationed at a lot of different camps. It kept us on our feet, so it’s hard to be specific.” 

They couldn’t have Pork n’ Beans since her can opener snapped. “Your outfit was with the recons, right?” She asked, taking out the gourd seeds she found a few hours ago, she handed one to Boone.

“Yeah.” He took off his sunglasses and brought the lens to his mouth in order to fog it up, but with all the humidity Elest doubted it was necessary. Boone wiped them with the hem of his shirt, to her he looked a lot less threatening without them, so much that she could see the consequences of little sleep beginning to pull him down. "They pick you out if you do well at the firing range. Pays a little better, so I said okay."

“When’d you enlist?”

“Eight years ago when I was eighteen. That's when most do."

Elest nodded, smacking the hard shell on the cement and pulling open the buffalo seed with her thumbs. She hadn’t eaten anything fresh in a long while, even that caravan lunch she ate back in Novac was a couple weeks old. “Is that how you met Carla?”

The mentioning of his wife tightened his shoulders, causing his breath to hitch. Otherwise, he kept his words, hitting the seed against the ground to split it open. “I met her in Vegas.” 

“You were stationed at the Strip?” Elest always wanted to go there, told herself that if she got enough money, her and Arcade would go see one of the acts at the Tops or check out those eerie mask wearing folks at the Ultra-Luxe. After studying at the lights over the gate for so long, she deserved the see what was in there. Boone didn’t respond, for a second there he looked nostalgic, a flash over his eyes like lightning across the night sky. 

He put his sunglasses back on and the look faded. “We should head out. This place is probably irradiated.”

Elest noticed his attempt at changing the discussion but decided to not point it out. ”I thought that’s just the whole Wasteland. Give me a second.”

Calling out for Rexy, he emerged from behind the rusted pipes running into the ground. Blood clumped the fur on his chin together as he greedily chewed on a Gecko’s ear. “Gross, bud.” Elest groused, jerking the skin from his mouth. It was sticky with saliva, so she dropped it with a shudder, wiping the residue on her clothes. His tail wasn’t wagging, meaning he knew they were preparing to walk the roads again.

If there’s one thing, Boone opened up to Rex a lot quicker than he did with Elest. Everyone likes animals out here if they aren’t out to eat you, especially dogs. It was rare that anyone ever turned their nose up to the boy, which made courier runs and pay a lot smoother when folks were too busy cooing over Rexy instead of how much they’re paying her. 

Suppose that soldiers were no different. 

The radio still sang happily, a song Elest couldn’t recall fading off. Mr. New Vegas’ three-pack-a-day phonographic voice interrupted the brief silence, talking about putting on his newsman fedora while they followed highway 95.

"Merchants are saying there's been little contact with traders from Nipton in recent days, causing concerns that the isolated town may be in trouble."

“More than fucking trouble,” Elest grumbled to herself, hobbling along and trying to keep up with Boone’s stride. The roads grew lopsided, following the winds of the hills before leveling out, giving her knee a well-needed break. 

"You passed through there on your way to Novac?" He asked.

This wasn’t something she could bite her tongue on. “Yeah, wasn’t good for me.” She bungled with her cowboy hat, hindering before putting it back on her head. “Hearing screaming in Nipton is normal so I didn’t think much of it, I just wanted to talk to someone I knew there but. . .” The way of the Legion still got to her, even after seeing Ranger Station Charlie and slave punishments for six years of her life. “I walked right in the middle of a Legion pillaging. They were sticking on crosses and burning everything, blood was splattered everywhere, fucking heads stuck on pikes just-” she took a breath.

“You’re kidding,” looking at her gave no signs of humor. “Going that far west? I thought they were busy with Nelson.”

“Well, they have enough men for both.” The idea made bile surge in her throat, the NCR was outnumbered in the Mojave, but they had too great of an ego to admit it.

“What’d you do?” 

“What do you think?” She scoffed, a hesitant pause before a response. “I ran.”

“You ran?”

Not her first choice,  _ that  _ would’ve been wailing like a damn child. Elest could feel his meager odium and he hadn't bothered to look at her yet. She must’ve seemed like a complete candy-ass, openly speaking about fleeing without doing anything to help. 

Still, maybe she should’ve stormed in with guns blazing. Whether or not she died it would’ve ended up better than this. A busted knee and Legionaries possibly out for her blood, even worse being those orders may be coming from her husband. Whoever it was, they saw her in Nipton. She wasn’t safe here anymore. 

“For your information there, bucko.” Her tone matched his, “I was both outnumbered and outmatched.”

“Right, your leg.” It was more of a statement than a legitimate question. It brought her back to reality, instead of running through the horror show she saw in Nipton.

“That was after.”  _ Yes, I remained able-bodied with my only downfall being that I was a coward. _

Their walk in silence didn't give them a second of mental peace. They stayed on high alert, passing an overturned truck that rested snugly against a plain billboard. Along the hillside moved a Fire Gecko chasing after a small radscorpion. All it took for Rexy to scamper after them was the possibility of a second meal. As long as the two creatures didn’t come near the road then Boone and Elest’s weapons would stay by their sides. She kept her eyes peeled for Banana Yucca plants or barrel cacti.

If only she could be so lucky to find something so mild. A patch of vermilion gathered in the distance. From what she could guess it was an abandoned shack, at least what she hoped to be deserted. “Heavens to me,” she fanned her flannel against her thighs. “Here I thought we were going to have to spend another night on the ground.” That wouldn’t be good for either of them, especially with the path they’ve been going down with Caesar’s Legion. 

"Wait, let me see through my scope." He must’ve been itching to put that rifle to use, holding it tight in his grip like he anticipated an unwelcoming visitor. You'd think Elest would as well, the inability to bend her right leg should be a constant reminder that more legionaries would be coming for her.

Rex scampered up to them after a disappointing hunting trip and no stinger between the teeth. It would be best to set up camp now before the sun set behind the hills. They all needed a bit of shut-eye, especially Rex and Boone who seemed to be competing in who could have more sunken eyes. Scavenging took up a lot of daytime with limited to no payoff, perhaps grave-robbing would have gone smoother.

Boone grunted, “nothing.” He said, lowering his weapon with his lips drawn shut. 

Like a child’s finger painting, the patch of land looked much more impressive in the distance than it did up close. The dirt proved fertile and produced more plants than the soil near the road. Fruit grew right up to the door, nearly leaning against it for support. It was enough for her, food for the road ahead of them, god knows they needed it. 

Rexy beat her to it, snuffing and scraping at the base of the door. Looking down at her Pipboy, Elest grimaced. “We’re close to Camp Searchlight,” she said. An uneasy sense of homesickness flooded over her, similar to a bucket of cold water being thrown in her face. Enough to distract her from the sweat creeping down her shoulder blades towards her tailbone. 

A heavy crash came on the cabin door right in front of her, startling Rexy and sending him fleeing towards Boone. It frightened Elest into sidestepping right into a prickly pear plant. She scratched her forearm into the thorns and white-knuckled her rifle. 

Looking over at Boone, she saw him staring at her. “Was that you?”

She shook her head, “no, something’s in there.”

The noise came again, bigger this time and enough to create a small dent in the scrap metal. With that Elest took another step backward. Such a shame that it was coming from the one place they could use as a refuge against a viable threat. Anything could be in there, from radscorpions to a full grown Yao Guai. Rexy released a guttural growl and his ears pointed down. Their amount of anticipation didn’t last long and the door shoved open.

The thing that stepped out didn’t walk on four legs or have sharp teeth. In fact, Elest wasn’t sure if it had  _ any  _ teeth. God, Elest never liked ghouls, not that she had an issue with particularly friendly ones. She only had contact with the Ferals dispersed along the Highway patrol station close to the Mojave Outpost, but this thing was one ugly son of a bitch. 

Its skin radiated green, peeling from its malnourished bones, an eyeball hung from its socket with the hair on their head nothing more than dark strings clinging to a rotting scalp. The only thing that didn't look remotely disgusting was the NCR trooper armor clinging to its body, but even then there were small peels and chunks of flesh clinging to the stitching.

The glowing ghoul looked right at her with its still intact eye. She thought its mouth was already open from where she stood, but its jaw almost dropped to its sternum and a blood-curdling howl tore from its mouth. As soon as she clasped down the trigger, Boone followed suit. 

The bullets passed through its body like a hot knife through a box of cram, which didn't help slow it down. The ghoul rushed forward, even while Boone's bullet raked through its shoulder and completely dislocated the bone, so much that its arm went along with it and descended to the sand. Elest could have thrown up in her mouth in addition to taking abrupt steps back until she was shoulder-to-shoulder with Boone, her ears rang from their relentless gunfire

Rex did nothing to support, in fact, the most he did was move away to put as much distance from him and the creature as possible. Elest’s bullet knocked through its ankle, causing the ghoul to totter and fall to the ground. Still, it crawled towards them.

Maybe it had to do with the NCR wraps the ghoul owned, but Boone hesitated. So much that Elest pointed her rifle and splattered its gleaming brains all over the sand for him. 

“Holy shit,” Elest choked out once the echo of her last bullet came to an end, her arms sticks of lead from the kickback of her gun. “What’s a ghoul doing this far out? And why is it in NCR armor?” 

Heavens know she didn’t want to overthink, but something inside her ignited, it made her chest tighten and her lungs fill with mythical fluid. Her confusion soon deteriorated at the look of dissatisfaction on Boone's face, he lowered his rifle. “This must’ve been what Andy was talking about last week.”

“Excuse me?”

Rex bleated, trotting tentatively towards the putrid corpse to sniff at the meat. He flapped his ears and sneezed. 

The sky blackened, giving the encircling clouds a more threatening look, the air stank of alloy and left an iron bite in her mouth, like a rainless thunderstorm, but not overwhelming. “The Legion attacked camp Searchlight. Said it was something they wouldn’t recover from.”

Elest’s stomach started to sink towards her toes. The second time's the charm, ain’t it? The Legion couldn’t find it in their heart’s to leave her hometown be and allow it to disappear under the sand. “Why would they. . .” Her lips bungled to find fitting words. She understood. They’re Caesar’s Legion and it’s what they do, it’s what they’ve always done. That was the only acceptable excuse. “Those fucking bastards.”

Staring back at her Pipboy, she checked their location. The rhythm of her heart ejected electricity through her nerves. “Then let's go check it out,” she said, something she never expected to three years ago. Elest removed her duffel bag from her arm and rooted around for a bottle of Rad-X. God knows if she still had any after her and Arcade’s venture through Vault 34 for the Followers Of The Apocalypse.

Stuck beneath an empty caravan box and lord knows what inside of a plastic container, she found that there were still a few capsules that waited inside. “Legion might be patrolling the area, or maybe some NCR. Keep your guard up.”

“Don’t need to tell me twice.” Dry swallowing one of the tablets, she gave one to Boone. “Just in case, take one.”

He did, rolling it between his fingers before popping it in his mouth. 

Once they followed the curve of the hills, the aged water tower came into view as well as the squandered roofs of the chapels. As they drew closer, a dense cloud of virid mist fell down and choked them, sucking the moisture from her eyes. Boone happened to be the out of them fortunate enough to have sunglasses. Elest swung her duffel bag to and fro tensely, years had passed since she even saw more than just the town in the distance. Even though she grew up here, played on the terminals in the police station, studied about the old world in the schoolhouse, and fired her first rifle behind their house, it didn’t feel like home. 

What used to smell of hydrogen peroxide and gunpowder, was overwhelmed by a pungent smell of death, something so potent it caused bile to rise in her throat. It sent signals of lightheadedness to her head, giving her the crushing urge to seek out a bed and lay down. 

It scalded their nose hairs, Elest could only hope that they’d grow accustomed to it. 

Telling a man that you’ve known for approximately four days that they must check out a deserted and immensely radiated town should’ve raised a couple of issues, that’s if she was venturing with anyone else but Boone. He took her words as 'scavenging' other than “sopping up the sight of your obliterated hometown that’s been transformed into a nuclear sanctuary”.

He didn’t talk much, wrinkling his nose with disgust and coughing a few times from the stench. 

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he responded, working to look unbothered. Rex bleated timidly with their idea to settle on the road again, stopping at a roadblock of starch sacks and two NCR shelters about a quarter mile from Camp Searchlight. A handful of NCR troopers pointed by a first ranked sergeant were taking a break from scouting. Seeing them was about as ominous as a housecat in the desert.

A man with a trooper helmet and a wiry mustache stood close enough to the street that he came up to check them before they went any further. “Hang on there, you two. You'll want to steer clear of this place - the whole town is irradiated to high hell.”

“Well, if there's radiation everywhere then why are you still here?” She proposed, ignoring Rex who pawed at the earth like he ached to dig himself a hole to burrow in. Too many hats, she assumed.

“I was stationed here before the incident.” He looked down, taking off his cap. “A week ago, some Legionaries snuck into the camp and set off some kind of radiation bomb. Don't know where they got it, but it was damn effective. Killed almost everyone and turned the rest into ferals. I’m lucky my team and I were on patrol”

“Did anyone survive?” Boone stepped forth to join the discussion, his direct temperament made it sound like he was demanding information. If it wasn't for his 1st Recon beret then she was positive the officer would've told him to blow himself.

“Not anyone who wasn't turned into ghouls. Those poor bastards - I can't imagine how they must be suffering. I'd put them out of their misery but I don't have the heart to do it.

Elest grimaced, she didn’t want to think about their misery, that the ghoul they killed back at that farmstead was human somewhere in there. “How’d the Legion slip by security?” From past experience, she found it wasn’t too difficult to infiltrate as long as you kept a face wrap and murdered some sorry bastard for their transfer papers. It was a shame that the NCR failed to tighten their defenses after such a malicious defeat. It sickened her, but it wasn’t a surprise.

“I don't know, too late to find out. There may be something to tell you inside in the camp, but I'm not about to run in to find them.”

She didn’t even think about it or ask Boone what he thought. “We’ll do it.” It was an enthusiastic run for her, but she at least owed Camp Searchlight this. To discover how and why they singled it out twice in one decade. 

“Thank you, both of you. Could you bring me their dog tags if you. . . run into any of them? Some of the troopers should still be wearing them. There are some caps in it for you.”

“It’s no problem.” 

Elest glanced over at Boone, grinning a bit at his reconciliation.

To be careful, after their conversation with the troopers, Elest took two more anti-radiation tablets than required and checked twice to see how much Radaway there was in her duffel bag. “You'll be alright Rexy," Elest quivered. His ears acting as two broken wings on the side of his head, cowering down the closer they got to the town. Longing for All-American, she pulled the varmint rifle band over her head, careful not to drop her case. "Hell, you can't be irradiated! That or you just haven't been exposed to enough to do some damage."

Rex snarled.

Her Pipboy ticked and squeaked once they passed by the first brick building, warning them of the rising radiation levels. “This is NCR grounds. Keep that in mind, will you?” Boone said, his tone cautious.

"Grounds?” She snorted, much to his annoyance. “They can't even step foot in here without growing a mouth on their dick."

After that remark, Boone showed his fill with their conversation. The way he disregarded her you'd think that he was the one who lost his home to radiation. 

Still, Elest was glad she could sport herself no matter the pain. Her frustration was starting to twist her innards. The last trace of her former life was gone, taken by Caesar’s Legion who were starting to become a recurring villain for her this past week. What if her father happened to be here when the legion ruined the place? What if he came home once a while to remind himself of their memory to soothe his inner turmoil? 

What if he was one of these ghouls?   

She forced Boone into taking another tablet of Rad-X for his utmost safety. Blocking the bridge was a small handful of feral ghouls who were too out of it to hold a combat knife correctly. Thankfully with their degraded eyesight, the three of them kept to the buildings and easily slipped by. 

Boone grabbed her arm before they got too far, still close enough that they could see their heads peeking over the railings. “Wait,” he said, “we can’t leave them here like this. It isn’t right.”

“Then do you want to kill them then?” The words made his jaw fasten to his skull.

Nodding, he leveled their heads with his scope, first with the ghoul who looked most competent in an attack against them. When he fired, the gunfire nearly made Elest’s ears bleed, it caused an off-note percussion to ring in her head to where she had to plug her ears.

He killed them fast, so much that the first ghoul didn’t hit the ground before the other two were following after, one after the other. They’d only need to worry about the ghouls surrounding the other buildings. Camp Searchlight was always a crowded town, buildings so close together you couldn’t stretch your arms out without touching the walls. More ferals could be around the corner, resulting in a dilemma. 

The road to the police and fire station was impossible to cross without becoming a chew toy to the radiation pit, not to mention the Mark III turrets just waiting to fire some of its rounds into the first thing that set off its security system. It didn’t matter how much they wanted to put those ferals out of their suffering. It was a deathwish, they would have to find another way to go about this. 

“Do you feel nauseous at all?” Elest pulled him aside after they narrowly slipped down the road and to the left line of buildings. It was a shot in the dark but the turrets turned a blind eye to them and didn’t blink red. Though the ferals blustered and bellowed from picking up their scent,  in no way could they find their coordination. 

“No. I’ve never taken Rad-X before, but it seems to be working.”

“Right on.” Her heart panged when she heard a ghoul march up to the brick wall and snarl a few times. They held their breath until the monster slowly wandered away. Elest had her doubts with Boone’s certainty, especially since she said the same thing to Arcade back in Vault 34, only to throw up her Salisbury Steak an hour after they left the place. It took the whole night and two packs of Radaway each to flush their systems.

If that son of a bitch Benny didn’t shoot her in the head then maybe she could remember something beneficial for her hometown. “We need to check the police and fire station. Those are the only places here that could be of legion value.”

“Great.” Boone reached down to scratch under Rexy’s chin. The constant tick of her Pipboy was causing his ears to narrow down. “Do you have any idea how to get to one of the doors?”

“Only one, but you won’t like it. ”

“Try me.”

“Alright, “ Elest scratched at her head anxiously, “we make a run for it.”  

With that, Elest looked over at him, his expression so cold she couldn’t budge it with a bowling ball. “See, I knew you wouldn’t like it.” 

“I was thinking we take out as many as we can from on top that military truck, you’ll have to back me up as best you can.” It would be one solid plan if she was as good a shot as her mother. With the way her luck had been turning, she wouldn’t be surprised if her rifle jammed before her first bullet left the chamber.

Elest looked down at her knee, the blood wasn’t as striking as it was before cleaning the bandage, but she shouldn’t go putting any weight on it that she couldn’t handle.

_ Ah, to hell with it. _

The hood of the truck sunk underneath her weight and she nearly slipped down the windshield more than twice. “Shit,” a small throb coursed down the nerves of her knee. Elest found herself more focused on the surrounding area with a conjoined paranoia of a group of ghouls hearing her strain. “Think Rex can be our groundsman? Take out the ones who come too close?”

“Not when we won’t let them get that close.” He pulled the string of his hunting rifle over his shoulders and looked at her. She steadied on the roof and held onto the metal hoops over the trunk, “here, catch.”

He tossed his gun to her, she nearly slipped and fell into the sand trying to catch it, luckily she got it by the barrel. Boone came up from the back of the vehicle, something Elest realized she should’ve done. 

Down on the ground, Rex looked more vulnerable than she’d ever seen him before. Maybe he could sense the radiation creeping past his ears, much like a dog could smell cancer in its earliest stages. His ears still protruded from his head and curved like a bat’s wing, she’d need to give him a feast of his favorite meals after this if she still wanted him to trust her. “Not much longer buddy.” She whispered, in hopes that her tone would be enough to soften that fraught look in his eyes. 

“Ready?” Boone asked, instead of responding, she forced a smile. 

Taking her 10mm from the waistband of her pants, she smacked the handle against the metal bars behind them until a rhythmless pang echoed through the town of the dead. Her plan of attracting some hungry customers took a moment, with the radiation making those skin and bone troopers hard of hearing, they crept behind the police station in search of them.

Rexy howled, jumping up from his hind legs with his tail between his legs at the sign of the first intruder.

Elest was first to shoot: her bullet soared straight past the ghoul's ear and hit one of the feral's that came knocking from the commotion. Boone took the clear shot for her, spattering its glowing brains on the roof hip to the closed down general’s store. The revolting victory didn't last more than a moment. Not only were there feral running around both sides of the fire station, but they were outnumbered three to ten. 

Firing, her gun clicked. “Motherfucker!” She smacked her palm against the chamber in hopes that the bullet would unstick, "My gun’s jammed!" Elest told him, hoping that it would in some way help him in speeding up the killing process.  

What didn't make anything more delightful for him was the New California Republic attire the ferals wore, reminding Boone that at one point they were once normal soldiers just stationed at this camp. The skin peeling from their bones was some fucked up bonus that Elest didn't ask for. "Fuck it! Rexy!"

She’d never seen him less interested in coming to her aid, it reminded her of the last time they dealt with ghouls, his mouth wired shut and face scrunched together, making his fur resemble a raisin. Remembering that he had to fight with his teeth made sympathy sprout in her chest, but Rex understood that it meant life over displeasure and charged in for the kill. Pouncing on a ghoul that pulled attempts at crossing the fence from the Searchlight firehouse.

If she kept her eyes on the prize and didn't shoot her dog then she'd be peachy. Elest tossed her rifle in the military trunk and exchanged it for her handgun, she’d be damned if she let Boone and Rex take them on all on their own while she sat there dwindling her thumbs. It wasn’t All-American but the heads spattered off and onto the concrete, their uniforms painted red.

Her clip ran out of ammunition just before Boone’s, but she didn’t worry, watching him knock off the remaining soldier with the last of his clip.

"God damn," Elest choked out, lowing her gun once the final feral took its fall and smacked their head against the roadside. Its skull broke in half, similar to a busted watermelon. She’d need to ice her ears and fingertips once they found a resting spot. "We make one damn good team huh? I can hardly hear out my right ear. What about you?"

He paused, Elest wondered if he wasn’t planning on replying to her. “My left ear is ringing. We should get earplugs.”  

“You can say that again.” Elest took a quick glance at Rex who was in the midst of trying to spit out every piece of ghoul flesh from inside his mouth as he wandered closer to her. In a second’s notice, she jumped down from the military truck to meet the dog half way. “You did fantastic boy!" She cooed, her loving tone not going unnoticed by the hound who whimpered in thanks. "You definitely saved our asses, I’ll make sure to give you a treat when we’re out of here."

“We should get their tags,” Boone advised, interrupting her high pitched conversation with Rex who's tail wagged eagerly by coming up behind her. “Leaving them here isn’t right.”

“I can honor them from here. You keep yourself busy.” Elest didn’t want to seem rude, but the last thing she wanted was to get any closer to these ghouls than she already had to. Even though it’s been ten years since she last lived here, she didn’t want to look at them. If there was the smallest chance that she knew any of them, then she didn’t plan on taking it. 

Rex wandered around her legs, brushing his tail against her calf. He needed some affection, and after his courageous move, Elest gave him a good few scratches behind the ears. “Stay here with Boone, okay bud? I’ll be back in a moment.” 

Boone who was a few feet away crouched over a brown-hued ghoul with a bullet embedded in its severed neck. He snatched the tag from it's hanging gullet before adverting his attention to her, "where are you going?" He asked, stuffing the tag in his pocket. 

“I’m going to see if the stations are locked.” She looped the straps of her duffel bag around her shoulders like a bookbag. ”Get those tags and give me a minute.”

It was easy to see in his face -with or without his shades- that he wasn’t content with her idea. God knows how many ferals were on the roads who didn’t hear the gunshots that were ready to attack her when her back was turned.

Elest hesitated in picking up her varmint rifle since it did her more harm than good, but with a curse, she threw it over her shoulder with her bag and sidled between the buildings. 

There wasn’t a threat she couldn’t handle. A small radscorpion came prowling up to her but all she did was stomp on its stinger to get it scurrying. The roads were clear, other than the abundance of ghouls that were crowding around the East church. Being here before getting shot, maybe it would’ve been too much to bear. All on its own that would’ve given her a radiation headache.

She subconsciously put her thoughts on the backburner, wallowing in pollution for even a few minutes could result in irreversible consequences, even with protection. Something here was different. Back in the vault with Arcade, the Pipboys the security guards had -though affected with radiation- possessed a steady tick. Her’s was all over the place, speeding up to five to six clicks every few seconds when she reached the fire station garage.

At this rate, the Rad-X pills she took would do nothing but look pretty inside her organs. 

The door was locked, which made this venture, adding to poison her body with toxic fumes a big waste of her time. Running her hands through her hair, Elest tried to put herself into the shoes of her eleven-year-old-self. The keys had to be somewhere, maybe inside the station knowing her luck. 

A bright bulb inside her head flipped on. A white stone house in worn condition with a grey tinted roof, mother kept a ring of keys inside the master bedroom of their childhood home. Elest could faintly remember her mother getting a spare key to the fire station from the Colonel. To which she took it as an offense, saying he only gave it to her so she could do his job for him.

If there’s even the smallest chance that after ten years, everyone had the respect to stay away from their home, she was going to take it. Rex barked profusely from behind the buildings and the echo of gunfire reached her ears. Elest knew Boone would go searching for her if she took too long, given that she said she’d only be gone for a minute, she took the risk. Marching down the incline and across the road. 

Her handgun stayed tight in her grip, looking over her shoulder at the schoolhouse left her with an indescribable urge to wander through the doors and check if her little sister was inside.  _ So  _ much changed. Elest had gone through two different identities since walking these roads, but it made her feel thirteen again, going through the strides of adolescence, before the attack, before the Legion forced her to grow up. 

Elest realized what it was: homesickness, a forever comedown from a drug she didn’t ask for. The Legion should’ve burned the place to the ground, destroyed it all so she didn’t have to come back here wondering why it had the audacity to look the same. 

The home Elest had etched in her head was drastically different from the one she stood in front of. For a moment she contemplated whether or not she walked up to the wrong house. With walls aged and withered from constant radiation, parched soil around the house that completely lost its earthly color and was white from the toxins. Even the windows were boarded up with splintering wood. It brought back nothing, or at least nothing she didn't already know.

She stepped forward, resting her weight against the side of the house. The tension in her leg was growing, and she paused to catch her breath. The old welcome mat that once resided in front of the door was gone, leaving a rectangular shadow in the sand. After a moment, Elest wrapped her hand around the warm doorknob and shoved it open. It felt strange being unlocked, she always remembered her mother being rigorous about the strength of security. 

Inside, only the placement of furniture remained the same, the battered television that Spin-Up and Aarons fixed for them so they could watch Pre-war movies had a hole in the screen, so much that you could see the wires inside. Her and her sister's mattress still laid by the couch. Little items were thrown from wall to wall with shattered glass all over the carpet. 

Hard to tell if she was first to be back. She had to be. Ten years later and her heart still caved in by just standing at the foot of the door, she couldn't imagine that her father would subject himself to this pain.

Her Pipboy ticked slowly, Elest moved away from the doorway, staring at the home as if it was an antique museum. What she wanted to do was sit herself down on the couch and stare mindlessly at the broken television, pretend that there was one of those old reruns playing on the screen.  

A sudden pang shot through the house fractured her sentiment. The noise rushed to her ears and sent prickles over her skin. Elest rose her handgun up with caution, moving to check her ammunition in hopes that the ghoul beatdown her and Boone had a few minutes ago didn’t use her entire clip. She pulled out the magazine as footsteps echoed from her parent's bedroom, her hand slipped and the few bullets remaining fell to the floor. 

“Motherfucker,” she seethed, falling to her knees to retrieve them. She moved carefully to evade the glass shards on the ground but became panicked when the steps angled down the hallway. 

The worst flooded through her head. If it was her father exposed to radiation then Elest wouldn't have the heart to kill him. She didn’t pray much, only a few times when she was still under Legion rule, either with Lucius or Vulpes. But the amount of beseeching she had on a broken record in her mind, hoping that she would come out of here in one piece without having to kill anyone dear to her.

Elest saw a man turn the corner to breach the living room, she came face-to-face with a red-skinned ghoul. His lulled eyes were pale and a worn out trooper helmet sat on his head. Her frame went rigid and a strangled gasp left her throat. Enough to disturb the ghoul who was minding his own business, he jumped in his boots and stepped back in alarm.

"Who the fuck are you?" He interrogated.

"Me? Who the fuck are you?! You aren't feral?" Oh god, that’s a relief. She had enough of those bastards.

"No. I'm not," He stated as a matter-of-fact, which was evident from his ability to communicate. "If you aren't going to answer my question, I'm private Kyle Edwards. A former NCR trooper." He crossed his arms over his chest, the name didn't fire off any alarm bells in her head. "Now, what the fuck are you doing in this cursed place?"

"I’m looking for something that could tell me what happened here."

"Well, what does it look like? Radiation. You should get out of here if you know what’s good for you. Don't let the door crumble on your way out." Speaking on the border of disappointment, Elest frowned. He must’ve anticipated her to leave as soon as he advised her to. He turned his back to her, making advancement to the kitchen before she called out.

“Wait, why are you still here?"

“You think I want to wallow in the radiation outside with a bunch of ferals?"

Elest paused, listening to the muffled sound of gunfire and the consistent ticking from her Pipboy. She shook her head, deciding it was better to not comment on the obvious, that there was radiation in this room.

“Fine. I’m looking for a key, specifically,” she replied before he could lead himself back down the hallway with his miserable thoughts. “The Fire station is locked and there’s a spare somewhere in here.” Hopefully, the confidence in her voice was well deserved.  

“Okay, right. Well, You’re welcome to look just. . . be quick will you?” Without another word, the former trooper turned on his heel and marched into the kitchen. Elest could’ve sighed with relief if there wasn’t more to be done. Looking around the living room, she questioned the odds of finding something of value to her family. Everything small enough to be transported was gone, meaning if her father came back, then he took everything, everything he deemed memorable.

Stepping around the couch to inspect the wooden bookshelf against the wall, she narrowly avoided stepping on what looked like a picture frame. “Shit,” she muttered, stepping back before she crushed it. Elest slowly kneeled down to pick it up. Smearing the layer of dust from the lesser quality photo inside, one too small for its casing that showed the white borders of the picture. The glass once protecting it was smashed, or thrown to the ground with enough force to kill a man.

The mindful thing to do here would be to put it down, grabbing an object that’d been soaking in radiation and toxic fumes wasn't the brightest decision to make. Then again, deciding in the heat of a moment to wander through her hometown was the most senseless thing she’d done all week.

With the state of her noggin, no wonder it took so long for Elest to recognize the people in the photo. It was her family. The faces of her father and sister faded long ago, even her mother’s since she only saw the same haunting image of her dying face. She wanted to blame that checker suited bastard. The drugs she took and the trauma she went through was nothing compared to the bullet that weakened her already frail memory. Elest knew the day would come when she wouldn’t recognize their faces, their names, voices, or laughs. She tried to pretend it didn’t bother her.

Looking at the photo, a surge of emotion overwhelmed her. The beaming faces did nothing but stare, she had her father's eyes, but his were more bright and relaxed. He had his arm around mom’s waist who held back a smile. Their hands were on the shoulders of two little girls who only past father's elbows. She recognized herself first, and then her sister.

The photo was a courtesy if she remembered right. Not many got the privilege of getting their picture taken, her father got a camera with film from Hoover Dam and brought it home to take a family album, this being one of the dozens of pictures taken. 

He must have taken the rest of the used film, including the ones with Team Omega and the silly poses. Elest could guess that if dad did come home, then he smashed this one after finding them gone.

Without another word, she dumped the broken picture frame into her duffel bag.

It took longer than she deemed necessary, finding her mother’s keyring at the bottom of the cupboard by the window. Private Edwards didn’t seem bothered, only staring at her in bewilderment for having so much determination to find something he didn’t even know existed. 

It was hard to leave, even knowing that staying there longer would result in an earlier death than she was already destined for. Elest didn’t think she cared anymore, she hadn’t seen her family in years. It was to the point that if she took in front of them now, they would be strangers. Even so, she would give anything to go back to that Thursday to tell her mom and her team that something was wrong. 

Dammit, why was she here? To gloat and cry? She didn’t need to help the NCR. It was better if she kept her nose away from any means of war. 

She found Boone close to the police station where the radiation was the thinnest. Being gone too long resulted in Boone coming to look for her, along the way he killed more than his fair share of ferals on the road. Rex was sniffing at the stone stairs with his tail between his legs. 

Boone had his own ghoulish expression along with nine dog tags on his wrist. Once he heard the ticking of the radiation locator on her Pipboy, he looked up. "You were gone long."

“Well, I found the Fire station key.” She kept her voice from tremoring, showing the large keyring around her fingers. Elest’s face was read, maybe her thoughts were being written on her face. “We need more Rad-X pills, the radiation was almost at eight rems when I walked past.” 

“That doesn’t sound worth the hassle,” he said, shaking his head. 

“It isn’t.” Moving her duffel bag, she tried to shove her family portrait far down with her empty Jet inhalers before tracking down the Rad-X in her doctor's bag. “Take these, and be quick about it.” She handed him a duo of radiation pills, but he just stared at them. “You can’t get addicted, trust me alright?”

Elest looked down at her Pipboy to check her status but kept her hand outstretched, the radiation wasn’t as high as she anticipated but the Rad-X in her system was lessening. Perhaps her nerves were the ones making her head swim with nausea. 

With a deep inhale, he took them from her and swallowed the pills dry. 

There was a lot of things out to get you in the Mojave, but radioactivity was one of the most ruthless bitches on the chain. It made Elest wonder why she didn’t think to buy radiation suits years ago. “We shouldn’t be long, the pollution levels aren’t high right now, but we need to be in and out or we’re dead,” it remained a comforting thought once she got the door unlocked. Elest’s radiation sensor flew off the hinges, so much that Rex kept his distance from her. 

They weren’t aware of what to look for, but their time limit was a great game changer, therefore they turned the whole place upside down. Elest left Boone on the first floor and made her way up the flight of stairs to the resting rooms, slower than she was to like. A dozen of rusted bunkbeds leaned against the walls, these being for the ones who weren’t transferred here long, and it happened to be one of the rooms least affected with radiation. 

The colonel’s room appeared to be the same, she checked the computer on the desk for any reports of suspicious activity, but one nuclear inhalation with an extra wave of radiation in a span of two hundred years must’ve been too much for it, given that when she pressed the power button, it sprung to life before immediately freezing on the welcome screen. “Dammit.” She slammed her fist on the keyboard, the odds of a toxic bomb going off in this office were low. 

Another arduous trip down the stairs, Elest more feared the railing tearing from the wall than she did losing her balance and falling down the stairs. She couldn’t wait to sit down and give her knee some imperative rest. 

Nevertheless, Boone stood by the garage door with a bilious look to him. “What?” She urged, hand tugging at her head to see if any of her hairs were coming out in thick globs.

“There’s something big moving behind here,” he tapped on the door with the muzzle of his gun, Elest’s hands were free of hair when she pulled back and paused to listen, but with the noise coming from her Pipboy it grew impossible to tell. “What’s the radiation at?”

“You don’t want to know.” With how quick her gadget worked, you’d gain the impression that it was a ticking timebomb. They didn’t have time to anticipate the unknown. “Are you going to open it or what?”   
  
From what she remembered, the door springs to the carport broke years ago. So much that they closed them off and allowed the storage inside to collect dust. Boone shook his head, “Not yet, look.” He pointed at the latch and lock, the bolt was melted to the door, which gave the rusted padlock no purpose. 

“Great,” she huffed, glancing around the hallway to search for anything of use. “I’ll go find a-”

Boone didn’t let her finish, turning his gun around to smack the stock against the latch until the rust flaked off with the force. Elest watched him with a grin on her face, she didn’t stop him. It gave after a few hits and the bolt dropped to the floor with a ‘clank’, Elest personally thought it was a bit excessive but chose to not comment.

They hauled the door open, coming head-up with one of the largest creatures she’d ever seen. Elest couldn’t retain the storage list including a radscorpion the size of the firetrucks behind it. Neither of them dared step through the doorway, not even Boone, who she thought would be first to fire. With a stinger the size of a ceiling fan, Elest wasn’t want to take her chances doing the tango with the evil lobster.

From what they could see, behind the creature in the backs of those pre-war firetrucks were large yellow barrels near the size of its claw with blood red hazard symbols on the sides. Two of them were dragged out onto the concrete floor with their tops wide open, two dead bodies in Legion scout attire were sprawled out face first on the ground.

“That explains it, let’s get the fuck out of here.” She didn’t want to wait for Boone to give a response, but it was evident that he had no complaints. 

There was no way to give justice to her hometown, and maybe that’s what stirred the air in her lungs as if it were a bowl of noodles. Elest listened to Rex’s metallic paw pattering on the destroyed road, following after them eagerly while they put some distance between them and the fire station. 

There were two more ghouls standing on top of the bridge, both delirious and unsure how to find their way down. After so much death and disappointment in one day, Elest could bring herself to aim her handgun at them and free them from their crazed bodies. She shook her head, grumbling and sticking the firearm into her holster. 

Rex nudged against her arm for a pat, her Pipboy finally ticking slower and soon going silent. Elest reached down to rest her hand on the glass dome encasing Rexy's brain. "You're getting hungry aren't you buddy? Didn’t like your ghoul snacks?” Her words sounded sweet enough, but maybe all that pre-war metal on him gave him insight to her words, given the whine he gave her. “Don't worry, there are Geckos west of here, we'll get you a nice dinner." 

He whimpered with anticipation as Elest limped forward.

Maybe this could be labeled as “heroic” and “productive”. If anything, Elest overstepped her own boundaries and rules for the third time this week -including one of the most influential principles she strictly followed: never stepping foot in the bounds of the southeast. Boone hadn’t been with her for long, but she saw how he influenced her with his thirst for Legion blood, so much that Elest started wondering why she was running from the Legion instead of staying for a fight.

For fuck's sake. She just wanted to clear her blood of radiation, get Rex a Gecko steak, a new brain, then flee the Mojave to get somewhere with air cold enough to redden her nose. Maybe she needed less of the NCR just as much as she needed less of Caesar in her day-to-day life. 

The NCR soldiers with the tent set up outside of the radiation borders looked more surprised to see they were breathing more than anything else. Boone gave the Sergeant nine dog tags, once belonging to loyal troops.

He stared down at them, closing his eyes to give the former soldiers a moment of silence. “Thank you, every tag is one more soldier at peace.” He perused over the names on each and every tag before setting them down on a rotting picnic bench. “Did you find the source of the attack?”

Boone nodded, “Legion scouts got into the fire station and opened barrels of toxic waste. They were dead inside the garage.”

If he knew of the storage inside the station than it would’ve been a no brainer. “Sons of bitches got themselves inside of there? That place has been locked up for years.” 

Elest sighed, “well, they found a way in.” 

He cursed to himself, rubbing the space between his brows. “Thank you for taking the time to look, I think I have some cash on me. “ He patted himself down, searching each of his pockets before pulling out a roll of NCR paper money. Elest wouldn’t say it out loud but she was tired of being paid with it, under the consideration that most merchants price it as half it’s worth in California. 

Furthermore, she took it from his hands. “Thank you.” 

He nodded, “take care of yourself.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a kudo and a comment because I'm fucking lonely. If there is any confusion: Rowena Vance is Elest's real name. Stay tuned for the next chapter! I'd say it's going to be a bit interesting~


	4. Everyone Sing The Campfire Song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I decided that since it's my birthday I'm going to post this as a present to everyone who wants to stress over Elest's decisions. I've already started on the next chapter so hopefully that will be posted soon as well. Enjoy!

**Year 2275,**  
**Elest is 16 years old,**  
**A year and a half until The First Battle Of Hoover Dam,**  
**One year since the passing of her mother.**

The first thing she felt was the explosive pain rocking and tremoring through the left side of her mouth as the rough and biting leather licked across her face. A searing pain splitting open the length of her cheek and she was knocked over into the burning sand, an angry sob of pain escaped her lips as she pulled an attempt at bracing herself against the ground. "Say it! Say the words you little fucking degenerate!" Antony outraged.

Elest coughed, trying to get the grains of sand out from the inside of her mouth. Her ears were ringing from the force of the belt being whipped across her face. It was powerful enough to knock her off her knees and to her back. She could feel a dozen pairs of eyes on her, brown gaze fluttering as she attempted to stare up at the dull blue sky. 

"Apologize for your words spoken about the mighty Caesar or face retribution!" His crazed voice was filled with fury, she could only expect that he was gripping the metal of the belt so tight that his knuckles had gone white, probably due to adrenaline. 

Elest could feel the hot sensation of thick blood running down her face from the gaping wound that had come from the crack of that belt across her face. She feebly tore her lulled eyes from the sky in order to leer around at the faces who had heard of the NCR girl's punishment for her words spoken about their morbid leader. Catching sight of Lucius alongside the man she had only knew as Vulpes, his arms were crossed with a gentle grin creeping over his lips. They caught gazes only for a moment, amusement thick in his eyes. Lucius had the authority over Antony to call off the penance she was receiving, you would come to the conclusion he would desire to punish her himself. 

Elest closed her eyes, her shoulder blades digging into the uneven ground. She had stalled a few seconds too long for the Houndmaster who snarled in aggravation, "get up you filthy profligate!" He marched forward to tangle his clammy hand into her unkempt locks, the sand scratched at her legs mercilessly before she was brought to her knees. 

"What are you gonna do, huh? Kill me?" Elest taunted impotently, her knees felt as if the top layers of skin had been rubbed off. The left side of her face must have been covered with a thick trail of blood, cascading down to the skin of her neck. She must have appeared to be physically defeated, but this was far from fucking over. It had been nearly a year since they had allowed her mother to merely die, and with that so did her tolerance for _any_ of their behavior. Soon they would not longer care if she was to be the Leader of the Praetorian Guard's bride, they would send her to god if she relentlessly provoked Caesar's wrath.  

If there was not so many leering eyes, she was sure that Lucius would have demanded that she keep her fucking mouth shut. He wouldn't want her pretty face to scar displeasingly, would he? Especially if he were to marry her the day he thought she deserved the title of Et uxor. Elest should have expected Antony to raise his hand once more with the belt still in hand, she flinched before she felt the hide clout the flesh of her neck. It was hard enough to tear and split the skin as he had done only moments ago. Enough to make her vision go white, hearing her own bellow echoing in her ears. Her neck felt as if it had been ripped open and that the belt was nothing more than a damn Ripper sawing into her flesh. 

"What was that little Rutilia?!" Antony inquired, she hadn't even realized she had spoken. His tight grip in her scarlet hair had lessened and she felt her form crash into the dry dirt and sand. She could hear someone yell from the crowd in what she could only guess was Latin, whatever had been said, Antony complied. Without a moment to recover from the hot pain overtaking her skin, the belt licked across her shoulder like a wet towel with teeth. Elest wondered if it _did_ have teeth. Her own cry echoed through the day and screamed directly at the sun above. 

She coughed, her hand climbing from it's placement on her chest to press it against her traumas. She didn't have enough fucking hands to aid herself. Tear's of pain leaked from the corners of her eyes, for moment the sun had been blocked from her sight and she could see Antony's silhouette following over her. 

"Please don't." She repeated, tone brittle. Her skin felt numb and all she wanted was to lose her consciousness before she was cursed with another whack of the belt across the length of her face or her limbs. She did not want to cave in, in fact; the surrounding slaves might find independence brewing inside of them from watching her disobedience. Not to mention dying would be a damn privilege, but being beat to death with a leather belt right outside the fighting ring with a handful of Legionnaires and two salients present all for calling Caesar a "sadistic bastard with a receding hairline" did not plant well in her notions. She despised pain, and she would not allow her mulish disposition make her loose a few teeth.

"Mercy is not given. It is only earned, woman." He spoke through clenched teeth, she was anticipating another strike across her skin, over and over again until she appeared to have survived venturing through a Deathclaw cavern. "Speak your words of forgiveness so our greatest of the Frumentarii can be of witness for the mighty Caesar!" 

Elest would bleat for humaneness, but she could not find it in herself to eat her own words. What she had said was not wrong, and born under different circumstances Caesar would have chortled prior to wholeheartedly agreeing with her statement. All she had to sob out was a brisk apology about how foolish she had been for speaking such a thing when she was nothing but a woman slave. 

_Mother if you are watching me now, I'm so sorry._

Elest hadn't been expecting it so soon, perhaps she should have been expecting the unexpected. Antony reversed his hold on the belt to clench the side that had once cracked across her face. He swung at her chin, the buckle smacking across her skin, and if she didn't know any better Elest would have said that the houndmaster had snapped her jawbone completely through. She fell in a heap, head crashing down to the sand.

_This is it. I'm coming home._

With the blow, she wasn't sure whether or not her face had gone completely numb or was so intense that she couldn't fathom it. Her eyes had closed, giving her the false impression that she was teetering on the edge of falling unconscious. "Hnngh." Antony grabbed another fistful of her ratted red locks to stare at her viciously, the blood began to pool down the dips of her flesh and between her breasts. In some fucked up manner she didn't understand, Elest found herself hoping that Lucius would come to her aid. Call this all off and insist that he would take matters into his own hands. 

She could only presume that she looked pathetic, that or on the brink of death. " _Please_. . . Please forgive me."

That was in no way deemed a worthy expression of regret, Antony knew this too, but perhaps it was the evident fact that the three deep wounds surfaced into her flesh were in need of Siri's expertise. Or it could have been the sight of Lucius's upper lip twitching. Perhaps if she did not receive treatment then the leader of the Praetorian guard's slave would die in his hands, the Houndmaster shoved her to the sand. Disheartened that the woman did not absolutely beseech for his mercy and instead had just taken her beating.

It took time but slowly the crowd began to thin. Slaves being shoved back to their duties and legion men continued on with their day. "I'll surely see you tomorrow when you decide to open your lips for your _own_ enjoyment." Antony spat, annoyance creeping in her with his words. It was evident that he was looking forward to such an event. And with his ill-mannered comment, he set off in search for his favored hound dog: Lupa.

Elest groaned disconcertingly. "Get up, woman." She could always recognize that tone of voice no matter where she resided. All she wanted was to ignore him, just lay on her back and slowly bleed to the death in the sand, or perhaps choke him to death with that fucking belt that he just watched the legionnaire beat her with. 

"You were pitiful, breaking after four whips." Lucius scoffed, latching his calloused hand around her bicep before hauling her to her feet. She dragged on the sand, stumbling miserably, supporting herself against the man. She wanted him dead, hanging on one of his own damn crucifixes. But he did not need to help her, and damn the bastard for showing a tinge of humanity as he aided her in sulking, all while degrading her. 

* * *

 

Elest hissed softly, the healing powder stung on the open wound as she sat there pitifully. Her head hung as she pulled fruitless attempts at staying still. Siri kept her immediate focus on the wounds, streams and smears of sticky and crusted blood littered her face and to her chest. 

"Does the powder hurt?" The woman asked her, Elest kept her silence. Her bottom lip trembling as she tried to keep her tears at bay, avoiding eye contact with her. She found it easy to keep her emotions hidden while in the presence of a Praetorian guard or a legion scout, but Siri had this gentle and kind nature about her. As if she found peace in keeping the women in The Fortification Hill feeling like they were worth something, not just cattle and whores for Caesar and his men.

The older woman continued her work, dabbing a cold and wet towel on the dried gore next to the wound along her cheekbone in silence. The actions much more serene and gentle than what she had grown accustom to. "Rutilia, you have to stop speaking out."

"They killed my mom." Elest spat resentfully, keeping her hands clenched together in her lap. "And I'll speak my damn mind until they let me go with her."

"You know that won't happen. They'll only beat and- " Siri trailed off, an abrupt silence overtaking them as a couple of scouts wandered by, one of them eyeing Elest through the eyes of his vizard. He was more than likely present for her retribution, as a good portion of the men who had been nearby were. The both of them could make out a string of Latin words, the only word she knew coming from them was  _lupâtria_. Should could only guess that it had been directed towards her alone. She stayed silent.

Both of the women scanned their surroundings cautiously, making sure there were no eyes or ears ambling too close before continuing their tranquil conversation. "Let me see the wound on your neck." 

Elest craned her head to the side, shifting ever so slightly so the woman would have better access to the lesion. She whimpered at her own movements that managed to stress and stretch the skin of the gaping cut. Her body was sore and overall burning from the grains of sand that had rubbed her limbs raw. She knew she couldn't keep doing this, it was already too much for her and surely Lucius was itching to chew her out once Siri had cleaned her up. She hoped the older slave would purposely keep her in her presence for just a bit longer than necessary to keep her from harm's way. 

Elest's shoulder's twitched once she felt the woman's fingers touch her skin as she placed more of the Legion's healing powder in the large injury. It was still bleeding, she pondered if that was why she felt so enervated. Siri's eyes did not falter from her work, for a slave the woman had soft and quite still hands, a gentle approach. God, the men swamping this island could learn a thing or two from the women they captivated. 

Yet suddenly, her hands had come to a stop. "Rutilia, are these bruises?"

Underneath the bleeding puncture, Elest had been aware of what the older slave had seen. Large blackening bruises littering her skin stockpiled onto to prior ones. She shifted shamefully, looking down at the dirt dried ground from where she sat. She wanted to pull her ragged clothing up to the skin of her jaw in attempts to hide herself but she couldn't gather the courage to move, Siri spoke once more. "It was your master, wasn't it?"

It was always odd hearing other's refer to Lucius as her 'master'. She herself could never see it. Never accepted it, she couldn't aid herself in biting back a grimace. The scarlet haired girl pleaded for nothing more than to fade from sight at this very moment, slip from everyone's mind and disappear into the void. She could feel Siri's stare on her, appearing to be nothing more than impuissant. She despised the feeling. 

"Does it matter?" She huffed.

"Yes, it does. You're still not his wife." The woman's hands fell from her neck, relieved but Elest still felt very tense; she did not drop her defenses. "Was it him?" 

Elest hated this, hated this goddamn persistence. As if Siri and every other woman who bared breasts in this forsaken place hadn't been coerced into stomaching such vulgar and degrading treatment. Marks did not make her any more pitiful than the next woman, disregarding age. If anything it was solid proof of the leader of the praetorian guard's uncharitable tendencies. All in all, she knew the fellow slave was asking with nothing short of care. She swallowed, trying to force the ball in her throat down. With that she nodded profusely, the motion propelled a few tears to slip down from her lash line. 

"You said that he had stopped." Siri whispered, brushing the tear from her skin before it could cascade down and into the bleeding wound. Elest inhaled deeply through her nose, shaking her head.

"No." She said, her words stuck in her throat as she struggled to control the coil in her chest. "No, he didn't." 

* * *

It could have been worse, her spoon hit the bottom of the tin can of beans. Sitting around a fire nearly ten miles out from Camp Searchlight. The sky no longer a sickening green, but with the air of the Mojave feeling like hot soup and the Radaway still taking it's toll, it did not aid her in her current frame of mind. As well as her blasted brain searching and searching for more of the memories she thought she had lost for good. 

"You like that, bud?" Elest inquired as Rex lapped contently at the gecko steak on the metal plate they had found. It was fresh and recently bled, something the hound much appreciated. 

"We should head out for Nipton while the sun is down."

Elest didn't answer, she seemed to merely be having one of those days. More memories ushering back, it crushed her ribs and punctured her lungs until she could no longer breath. She wished she had more of these damn canned beans. Chewing would give her something to do other than ponder. Rex perhaps had sensed her disturbance, biting his teeth down on the metal plate to drag it closer to her so he could press his side against her thigh while he ate. She couldn't help but wonder if as a former legion hound, Rex was taken care of by Antony. 

God, fucking _Antony_. Her hand moved up to press against the dip of her neck, feeling the thick and white cicatrix that pressed into her flesh; she could only guess that it was the healed wound from that day. It could have always been worse, and she knew that, she had always knew that. She could have been taken by Caesar, Lucius could've die in the war leaving Vulpes with full ownership over her, or centered out by Legate Lanius or the Malpais Legate (before his time) for her looks and high spirit. By all means Lucius had been a blessing under those circumstances, Vulpes had always called her a privileged whore, something told her he had been right. 

"Since you know that I was shot in the head on a work day, can I ask you something?"

Boone released a grunt, moving his small spoon from the tin casing and bringing it to his lips in silence. He did not reply, nothing rang in their ears but Rex's chewing and the sound of the fire crackling and popping. The warm glow emitting over his features, casting shadows underneath his tired eyes. Thinking of it now, she was not sure on when he had last slept. "Yeah, sure." He replied gruffly. 

Elest set down the tin can in front of her crossed legs, her stomach churned and she felt sick as if those bake beans were not going to sit well. "Your wife, Carla. Can you tell me anything about her?"

She knew nothing of the woman, but if she had been sold into slavery by the Legion, she was sure that the both of them would have had plenty to chat about. She noticed the his shoulders tense at her inquiry, Elest leaned in to rest her elbows on her thighs. Now closer to the campfire, she could feel the heat flooding over her face. 

"She's dead. And that's all you need to know." He shifted his rifle over his shoulder to set it over his brahmin skin trousers, he took the hem of his shirt and began to shine the barrel. Appearing to be much more stern now, leering at the weapon as if he desired to snap it in two. 

"Well, how do you know she's dead?" She inquired. Elest would love to be as certain as he was, she always pondered of her sister, whether or not she still lived. A chief wife, a whore, perhaps she had died and joined her mother. But she would never be sure, and here this man was, with no doubt in his gaze that his wife was dead. 

"I just know, alright? How about you drop it." 

Perhaps it should have hurt her feelings, especially the embitterment crowding those words. Her thoughts told her to mind her own fucking business. She knew she should as it was not her place to pry into other's lives. Then again he knew who this piece of her was, the unfortunate courier Six out of Six that had a graze of death and was in the midst of searching for the man who killed her. 

"You're aware of how suspicious that sounds, right?" She sighed, brushing loose strands of hair behind her ear. "I know that once someone you love is taken by the Legion, you never see them again. So being certain that she is dead gives me the wrong impression." 

"Drop it." He voiced once again, that was surely a warning. Though Elest found that since she was under rule of Legion, she never took commands very well. Nevertheless she found it easier to yield to his order other than fight it. But she still stared at him, a raw and tedious stare before glancing down at Rex. She patted him on the back, surely the steak was much more appetizing after his hesitant feast on those ghouls. 

"I joined up with you to kill legionaries. Sooner we get back to that, sooner we can have an understanding."

Elest wanted to retort, tell him that with his type of mentality he wouldn't survive to the end of the year, probably end up dragging her along with him to death or perhaps have her thrown back into the same damn fate that she had tried so hard to escape. It was only a miserable guess crafted with nothing but fear, dread, and whatever the fuck you wanted to call it. 

"Yeah, I got it." Though that did not mean it was appreciated. She reached over to her right to grab onto her duffel bag and haul it over to drop it down in her lap. She unzipped it's casing to peruse it's contents. It was enough to distract her from her own embitterment, more of her distress over whether or not Boone was going to kill her in her sleep.  After a few restless moments of uncomfortable silence she dropped her hands, crushing the material of the bag with her arms. "Then let me ask you something else."

He released a soft sigh, eyes moving up to stare at her. She could tell that she was exasperating him. And for a man who had not slept in more than forty hours, she was surprised on how well he was handling her vexing way of passing time. "Fine." The way he had spoken gathered the impression that he was not agitated, his lips positioned in a straight line before he brought another small spoonful of beans to his mouth. He set the can down in the sand to move his hand up and take his sunglasses off. 

"Your outfit in the NCR was the 1st Recons, right?" It was always the beret, she pondered that if she had merely searched her childhood home thoroughly then she would have found her mother's. Irritated or not. Hidden somewhere in the dresser or maybe her father had taken it with him when he left. 

"Yeah, sees a lot of action." He brought his glasses to his mouth to fog the lens before rubbing the condensation off with the collar of his shirt. Elest took this time to stare at him, he seemed to appear much more kind without the shields, maybe even more approachable for a stranger looking for warmhearted conversation. With those glasses on she always felt venerable, not knowing whether or not he was staring right at her. "We moved around a lot while I was enlisted, stations to camps. Kept us on our feet."

"When did you enlist?" 

"Eight years ago. When I was eighteen. That's when most do."

She watched as he folded his sunglasses and set them alongside his can of beans. Rex whimpered softly from her side, as if he desired another slab of Gecko meat. Sniffing curiously at the sand around her, he stopped at the forsaken beans she had finished. He stuck his snout inside of the canister to lap at the remaining nourishment. "They pick you out if you do well at the firing range. Pays a little better, so I said okay."

"It doesn't sound okay." She stated, referring to his somber tone. She could see his green gaze staring off towards Rex, the both of them could hear the sound's of the dog's tongue lapping at the inside of the can as a pregnant pause took over. 

"We should head out." He spoke at last, deciding it was best to pay her comment no heed. He rose from his spot on the warm sand, Rex tried to pull his mouth from the opening of the can, a flaw in his plan as he merely jolted his snout up with the can still stuck on his mouth. Elest stared up at the former Recon, she couldn't tell whether or not the shadows underneath his eyes were from the glowing light of the campfire or if the lack of slumber was at last getting to him. 

"No, we're not. Get some sleep first. I'll take watch." In the midst of miles of sand and nothing but tumbleweeds and cacti, it was not the best place to reside over the night. As anything could pass through, a broad spectrum from a pack of coyotes to Legion Scouts. Boone seemed reluctant to agree, exhaling deeply through his nose. 

Rex still in the midst of trying to get his snout out from the can. Backing up six feet before at last attempting to use his front paws to pry it from his muzzle. "I'm serious." She spoke once more. "What use are you to me shooting at shadows and dozing off?"

Even then he would more than likely trump her in battle, though if he couldn't it would only serve as another reason on why he needed to get some shut eye. "Come on, you can rest your head on my duffel bag." She patted her hands on the weighted sack on top of her crossed legs, shoving it off her appendages. He did not seem content with this, moving closer to the woman to grasp the strap and haul it to her right side. Elest felt compelled to grin virtuously his way as he set down the knapsack, she could hear the sound of her junk clanging together inside the material as he sat down and laying on his back to leer up at the darkened sky. "Do you want me to turn on the radio? I find that 'I'm So Blue' is a soothing song to sleep to."

"If you want to. It doesn't matter to me."

Oddly enough, she did not feel disheartened by the man telling her to make the choice herself. In fact, she contently lifted her arm up to click the slides on her Pipboy to turn on the Mojave Music Radio. She found that late at night the song used to play, sending her off into a soothing mood whether she was resting her hide in a motel room or cautiously traveling with the moon high in the sky, she toned down the volume so the music did not scratch at the speaker system on the device. Sure enough, the Mojave broadcaster had switched to the serene song by Katie Thompson. 

She swayed her head gently. Trying to envision the scratchy memories she could recall from when she was young, the beaten up radio her family had in the kitchen playing 'I'm So Blue'. A blurry image of her mother in a pre-war dress entered her mind, her hair hidden inside of her 1st Recon beret that she wore. Humming freely along as she moved from one bare foot to the other. 

Boone had little to the same notions come to life. Carla had always insisted on listening to the radio once the both of them found themselves cuddled in Novac. The blonde haired woman had always insisted that it reminded her of the bright lights and extravagant colors from the life of the city. Mr. New Vegas brought it to her over those speakers, he always appreciated the smile she would have overtaking her lips whenever one of her favored songs would play. He could see her now, frame hunched over the surface of the kitchen counter as she wrote down one of her notes on her clipboard. He could move closer and envelope her into his arms, pressing his chest against her spine as he buried his nose into the crane of her neck. His hands resting over the soft bump of her tummy where their child resided.

He trailed off, his exhaustion managed to plunge him into a deep sleep before the song managed to come to an end.

* * *

 

Hours past, Rex had found his placement at her feet and was snorting and panting in his sleep. With his lights out, Elest was the only one still barking for the time being. She had strung All-American over her shoulder to hold it tight in her trembling fingers as she paid swift glances in every direction when she heard the slightest disruption. She didn't know why Boone preferred to stay up until the latest hours looking out for their skins when she was shaking in her boots. Perhaps the reason he did so was the constant paranoia. 

She always feared that Lucius would appear in the corner of her eye, perhaps even Vulpes or Caesar himself. She knew that was the root of her Jet addiction and how her mind decided that it would be best to hold on to every ounce of fear she had of them. But when she knew she was in a safe environment she didn't have too much trouble sleeping, she supposed it was not the same for Boone. 

Elest could make out the sun rising in the horizons. She clicked off the New Vegas radio once enough illumination had been casted over the lands, only a blue hue. The fire had at last burned out into nothing but red hot charcoal and forsaken trash she had found inside of her duffel bag hours before, the smoke riding high into the slowly brightening sky. 

She spared Boone a quick glance, his posture straight with his head supported on the uneven surface of her bag. Chin up and eyes closed. She could have laughed, perhaps it was discourteous to say that he slept like a soldier. His hands clasped over his abdomen with his legs pressed together, like a man inside his own coffin. Even in sleep he appeared troubled, she pitied him, and at this moment maybe him more than herself. As she had grown so used to feeling sorry for poor ol' Red, it was a good change to think that someone could be more fucked up than her. 

Elest moved forward, crawling towards the mouth of her duffel bag that Boone had resided his head on. She hoped that she could manage carefully unzipping the carrier the opposite side of where his head laid, she had not yet found whether or not he was a light or heavy sleeper, surely she would find out now. 

Elest wanted to think that she had a soft touch, that she could open her own traveling pack with ease and be as sly as a Nightstalker; just as she had when managing to slip from the arms of Lucius after her own defilement so she could cry in peace nearly every night, you'd think she'd learn the gentle approach. But Boone seemed to be a bit jumpy. 

She had merely unfastened the bag, calmly searching through the contents, she had taken a hold on the broken frame of the Vance family portrait she found back in Camp Searchlight before Boone had stirred from his sleep and suddenly her wrists had been pulled together and the picture was knocked a few feet from her. 

"Holy shit, Boone!"

At the sound of the woman's tone, he released her at once. Elest hadn't even gotten a moment to breath, thinking that if she didn't speak immediately then he would have put her in a headlock before snapping her neck in two. 

Instincts, she understood that everyone had them but she had not expected the man's first course of action to throw his hands in the air and manhandle her. He pulled himself upright, craning his head to the side in order to address her. Boone did not have his glasses to shield his eyes this time, brows pinched together and his eyes a bit wider than she saw them hours ago. "Dammit, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"M-Me? What the hell's wrong with you?!" She sputtered, brown eyes seemingly the size of saucers with her pitiful attempt at firing back with a retaliation. She hadn't been anticipating such hospitality from the man when all she had done was try to grasp at her own home photograph. 

"Forget it." He huffed, turning back before pulling himself from the ground. Elest glanced up at him from her placement in the sand as he wandered over to the smoking fire to lean over to scratch Rex underneath the ears. She kept her words, a sheer coat of uneasiness and overall guilt closing over her chest. It wasn't as if she had stepped out of line with her actions, yet she could still feel the trace of his hands clenching onto the bones of her wrists, telling her that she had done wrong.

That was the mentality the Legion had hammered into her head. She needed to let go, though it was easier said than done. She kept herself from murmuring out a haste apology, maybe she should. As she had just startled him into nearly shoving her nose in the sand, she spent more time contemplating her choice of words that it soon became too late for her to say anything. Rex had awoken a few minutes after Boone had paid him a few pats, wheezing before he began sniffing at the smoking fire. The sun at last casting beams of light over the landscape. Looking down at her Pipboy she could see that it was nearing six in the morning. 

Elest zipped her duffel bag up, resentment still thick in her mind before she at last grasped the broken family frame prior to heaving the sack over her shoulder and stuffing it in one of the opened pockets. "Are we heading out?" She asked, despising herself for still feeling the lasting influence of his abrupt awakening. She tried to shove it into the back of her mind. Boone grunted, nodding softly as he gripped the barrel of his hunting rifle. 

"How far from Nipton?" He inquired.

Good, he wasn't going to mention the disruption in her mood, meaning she could pay it no heed and he would be none the wiser. Clicking through the device on her wrist, she scanned the locations thoroughly; tracing the line from where they resided and to the place marker on her map. "Four miles, If we're haste then we can make it there before Rex starts whimpering." 

Spoken too soon. The hound dog released a drawn out whine, propelling the both of them onwards until they found themselves following the demolished roads.

* * *

Elest's sense of fear for the former 1st Recon's physical actions displayed were shaken from her mind only a mile into their venture. Rex had ran off a few times whenever he saw a fire ant or a mole rat in the distance, keeping her and Boone busy whenever they had to dash after him. After the third time they found that it was no longer worth the hassle, and he would always come back with a limb inside his mouth. 

"At least we know that we won't need to feed him any time soon." She voiced humbly.

"Doesn't mean he won't want any of your leftovers." Boone responded, she found herself chuckling at his comment. He hadn't even been around the cyborg dog for a week and he already seemed to realize that Rex could eat more than an oversized Yao Guai. 

Not much had changed since the first day her and Boone had started traveling together, it only seemed that Rex had loved up to the sniper like a pup would to it's mother and her knee was gradually becoming more easy to stand on. But she could sense that it would never be the same, with the slight limp she had acquired, she felt broken. Broken by the legion once and now they had the nerve to do it twice. Take out her damn leg so she could no longer run. She heard the fucked up ways that Caesar's men capered with their pray, she could only guess that it was best to cripple the animal so it could not run from you. 

Lucius wasn't stupid, he knew that if he wanted her to come back he'd have to do it himself. That and whatever Praetorians he brought with him. If she could escape The Fort and break off her slave collar so they could not track her, then fade from sight for a total of three years. Then it would be much more than pre-installed fear that he would need to use to his advantage. 

Once the both of them passed by the once successful Bighorner farm, now abandoned -Elest could feel her stomach churning. The recent memory of the pillaged town of Nipton entered her mind. It had only been a week since she had seen the band of Legion in the midst of fire and smoke, she wondered if anyone else had passed through since then. If she hadn't been observant with her surroundings then she would have wandered straight into that attack. She would more than likely be dead, that or hauled back to Lucius's side. Hell, same thing. 

What if someone else had made their way there? Perhaps someone from Mojave Express? The Legion wouldn't have stayed that long, surely. They would stay long enough for Ghost to see from her binoculars, that would be enough for them, though she wasn't sure. 

"What if the Legion is still there?" She inquired, hopefully he would not sense the apprehension in her tone. Rex howled, scampering off again after a boatfly in the distance. At least one of the trio were having a blast. 

"Call it a lucky day."

"Call it a death day, more like it." She grumbled, loud enough for Boone to hear. He scoffed, or maybe it was his way of showing amusement for her commentary. Another sheepish glance towards Boone, she watched him. Thankfully he had taken the lead, as she found that after enslavement she would rather follow than be conducting. It was what she was comfortable with. The slaves with signs of independence were always beaten or branded, or both if you were her. Misbehaving slaves always made their master look bad, or at least that's what Vulpes Inculta had said to her before throwing her in the pit with Lupa while Lucius was off at the 1st Battle Of Hoover Dam. 

Elest wished she could forget about that, wished the dog would have merely killed her. Lucius had gifted her to Inculta for his time gone, leaving her without a master would make her fair game to any of the Legionaries, especially if he died. In all honesty she preferred that than her year of hell with the leader of Frumentarii. He had been ruthless, where Lucius found her stiff-neck disposition exasperating, Vulpes found it amusing to dominate. Elest had even found herself relieved when Lucius arrived back with Caesar and the remaining men after defeat, the Malpais Legate no where to be seen. 

A mile left at the most. Rex had came back with a boatfly wing hidden inside of his mouth, gifting it to the Former 1st Recon who grimaced at the gesture. He was quick to act in brushing the wing from the vamp of his boot. 

"He likes you. If you don't pick it up and thank him he'll get upset."

Boone glanced over his shoulder to frown at her. Not that she could tell, for all the woman knew his face always looked like that. "I thought he already liked me." He asked, though the hound had quickly grown accustom to him, Rex slept and rested his legs next to Elest. It was evident that she was his golden cap. He watched as she rolled her eyes, brushing back her tangled red hair. 

"Just do it, trust me." He didn't, but that was besides the point. Staring down at Rex who met with his eyes intently. Boone forced a weak smile at the robotic dog, kneeling down to hesitantly take the boatfly wing covered in saliva from the sand covered road. He made it look as if he had pocketed the modified limb prior to petting the animal on top of his caged brain, voicing a quiet thanks. Rising to his feet, he noticed Elest grinning in his direction. 

Boone didn't comment on it, exhaling deeply as he rested his hunting rifle securely into his hands. Continuing onward, Elest: disheartened but not surprised. Boone had deemed Rex better company than he did her. She couldn't blame him when she did too, especially when all you needed to know about a dog was it's damn name and where it's favorite place to be scratched was. Humans and their complications, she'd know.

_"The brain has always been a total fascination to me, a pink blob of Colorado River moss. Yet so complex. . . How it allows us to communicate with our own body as well as other's. We touch something and our brain is alerted of the communication, not to mention the fruitless jumble of sounds I'm saying to you right now that somehow make sense to you."_

_"Arcade, the jumble of sounds coming from you don't make sense. But I appreciate your attempts."_

The smoke had at last shone over the horizon, a dark cloud over the town in the far distance. Elest shuddered, hands clenching around the switch on her Pipboy before she began to nervously switch through the system. Turning on Mojave Music Radio in hopes that the country hum of "I'm Movin' On" would capture her notions and keep her in check. The legion would not be there, not anymore. Surely they would have taken their leave hours after she had first wandered by. 

"It's still burning." She spoke softly.

Was it fascination in her tone? No, of course not. It was fear. Boone could recognize such a thing in an instant. The meek and tremoring foundation to those words. Fucking Legion. Boone despised terror, fear in anyone's wake was always a dreadful thing. Finding who is weak enough to cower and who is dense enough to stay depending on the situation has never really appealed to him. Only with one acceptable situation, one damn circumstance. Finding whether or not the next Legion at his mercy would be one to run or face his death with some courage, even then it always made him feel like an animal. But the vengeance coursing through him always seemed to cancel it out. 

So far he hadn't seen Elest kill anything more human than a damn feral ghoul, that and shooting down a Legionary, but he had been the one to finish him off. She didn't seem like a murder as he was, even with that war torn look she had in her eyes when she wasn't speaking. Then again, being shot in the head twice and buried in an unmarked grave would traumatize anyone who could remember the encounter. 

The road had ventured closer. The both of them could smell the burnt hair and smoke lingering in the air, Elest had stumbled to Boone's side. He could hear her wavering voice as she hummed along to the next song. Settling onto the cracked sidewalk, they met with their first sight of the crimson colored Legion flag. The obnoxious golden bull made Elest feel a sudden wave of nausea. She hadn't been close enough to touch the stitching of the banner since she was enslaved on Fortification Hill. With a glimpse towards Boone she could see his jaw clench, shaking his head at the sight. 

"Those bastards will take any chance that they can get to show their damn flag."

God, he had _no_ idea. Her left hand wandered to the strap of her Pipboy, the skin underneath the clasp burned and scorched.  Branded like a fucking cattle, a true mark of a slave. 

Treading ahead, things only seemed to grow more gruesome and morbid. Faces white from the blood drained from the dismembered skulls stuck on wooden pikes. Mouths agape in a silent, agonized scream, eyes rolled up into the back of their heads lining the road that would leading to the Nipton Town Hall. Not to mention the splintering crosses with powder gangers tied to the beams. From what they could see: the ones with short sleeved shirts showed evident signs of dislocated arms and joints. Others with short legged jeans had mangled legs that was only topped with the dark crows picking at their rotting flesh. The humid atmosphere only made the smell of death thicker. Now seeing it up closer, Elest wondered why she had let Boone talk her into venturing here. 

"Shit." The Recon murmured, starting forward.

"-Boone wait." She reached out and grabbed ahold of his bicep, fingers digging into the flesh with earnest. "What if they're still here somewhere?" She inquired, was she serious? He wasn't sure. The sole reason he had desired to head up to the plundered town was in hopes that he could get his hands on a member of Caesar's Legion. They had spoken briefly about her fear of the regiment, everyone woman would be smart to despise them and or fear their ways of life. He didn't question her understandable paranoia.

"Stay close to me. Load your weapon and stay alert." He voiced, she didn't have to be told twice when it came to arming herself against the Legion. She stared down at Rex who was cautiously prowling onward, but was not growling. Elest shifted, arm brushing against Boone's as they sulked side-by-side down the road. Eyeing the buildings suspiciously, but with no doubt Elest tried to not let her gaze wander too close to the mangled men on the crucifixes. The radio echoing from her Pipboy only seemed to make the sight more eerie. 

 _"It's a sin to say that I don't miss you. . ."_ Elest warbled only loud enough for Boone to hear along with the tune. Her brown eyes running over their surroundings in hopes that not even a glimpse of crimson would be made out. 

"Fuck, did they burn bodies?" She pondered mainly to herself at the sight of scorched twigs and ash remains of the buildings. She remembered passing through this town a few times with Cass and Arcade before she had been shot and killed by that city boy and his Khans. It was a devious and shoddy place with a despicable mayor running the place. The shopkeeper had once mistaken her for a whore the first time she had given him a package, as if he had been too distracted by her tits to see the Mojave Express pin she wore on the flowing skirt of her dress. she found herself avoiding it at all cost with the talk of Powder Gangers residing there. Sure, questionable town run by shitty people, but they did not deserve this.  

Rex whined, moving ahead of them to sniff at the last cross on the left side of the road. Blood trailing down the fractured wood, it was better than the hound running off to chase something unknown. Elest followed after him, Boone peered through his scope to glimpse at the terrain ahead of her for any remaining legion. 

"Rex, stop it. What are you sniffing at?" She shoved his snout out of the way, pulling a small square of paper from his lips. Staring blankly down, she could make out that it was a ticket, more specifically a lottery ticket. Two cartoon women mirroring each other, riding toy horses as they threw their hands in the air with a pre-war cowboy hats gripped in their fingers. A string of bold numbers underneath with a small " **C** " in red paint; god she hoped it was paint. 

"Boone, look at this." He had slowly stepped closer to her, she spun around, nearly slamming into the barrel of his rifle as she held it at arm's length. "Do you think the C stands for. . . Crucifixion?"

He grasped the small piece of paper with a frown gnarling his lip. "That would be my guess too." He replied, crumbling the ticket and paying no heed to the look on the woman's face. "We should go check out the Town Hall. Find anything of use to tell us happened here."

"We all ready know what happened here! One word, big guy: Legion." She wanted to state that the both of them should chase their own asses out of this city of dead before they stumble upon more sights that would never be forgotten. "We've seen enough. Let's get up to the Mojave Express and report what we saw."

"Sorry. I can't do that."

"Can't or won't?"

"Won't. At least until I know what that lottery ticket was all about." He watched as the scorned look overtaking the woman's features began to soften. Surely she was curious as well, whether or not she desired to be the hero, that wasn't what this was about. Perhaps it wasn't even about justice, just a sole bloodlust on his behalf. 

"This could be easily solved by searching the pockets of the Powder Gangers lined up. If they have matching tickets then we're golden." Surely she had been striving for a nonchalant tone, but she was not gifted with such. Thick signs of anxiety shrouding her brown eyes, Boone found it comically evident. She didn't want to get any more near those bodies than she had already. 

"Are you a city kid?" He inquired, catching her off guard.

"What?" Elest pondered if she had heard wrong. She hadn't heard him ask her a remotely personal question quite yet, disregarding the inquiry on how she managed to injure her leg and the brief conversation touching on her issues with Jet. Boone's impassive expression had not faltered.

"You seem uneasy around corpses."

"Oh I'm sorry for not wanted to see someone sprawled out on a Legion cross." She fired back resentfully, his inquiry had stayed unanswered. Mojave Settler is what she labeled herself as, but not one of those New Vegas prats. She had never seen any of the cities up close, never getting closer to the Lucky 38 than the Fort that belonged to The Followers Of The Apocalypse. Even as a slave she was only threatened with being hauled to the ruins of Flagstaff, never seeing the place for herself. 

"No, I'm not. Are you?" 

He paused, fingers bent around the trigger of his gun. Elest found he must have been just as much on edge as she was. Difference being it was his profession to have a gun in hands. "Come on, there may be survivors around here somewhere."

Fine. He could hide behind his scope all he wanted but she could still see him, whether or not he would answer such a senseless question. And Elest could not find it in herself to begin a never-ending quarrel in the city of the dead. The smell of burnt hair and flesh was growing overwhelming, topped with the days the crucified bodies had been bathing in the Mojave sunlight, it was downright sickening. All she wanted was to just get the information Boone desired and get out of here before she threw up the food in her stomach. 

"Alright, then we can split up. Cover more ground that way."

"Covering more ground isn't worth your death." He snapped irritably, anticipating such an answer from the young woman. He was starting to think that she had a death wish, which was the mutfruit piece on top of an atomic cocktail. She had a minor addiction to Jet, had gotten shot in the goddamn head, now taking absolutely no precautions with the threat of Legionnaires. It was odd but he couldn't help but ponder how she had managed to survive before he set on the road at her side. Boone would have categorized her as a child if it hadn't been for those bullet wounds underneath her bangs and the scars seemingly littering her skin, clumsy he supposed. And terrible at picking the right roads to travel. "We stick together."

He wouldn't take the chance of another loosing their life due to the wrath of Caesar and his blasted Legion. Not again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vulpes Inculta? More like Vulpes InSALTa. First time he's been mentioned yet from the moment I thought of Elest's backstory -I knew the little bastard would take part in this work one way or another. His karma is "Very Evil" so I felt the need to make him the "More ruthless" type of master when it comes to slaves. Especially the ones who are hot-headed enough to talk back. Would have killed her if her life had been solely in his hands for sure.  
> 
>         I'm still not sure if I'm doing Boone justice, nor Lucius for that matter. I have only dabbled with Vulpes so I cannot really determined how well I am with his personality. This can be considered part one of two parts from the venture to Nipton. Did I mention that Elest knew both Arcade and Cass? I love my companions, I almost want to fucking throw Raul, Lily, and Veronia in there. But one at a time. Stay tuned for chapter four everyone! Thank you for reading this far into this garbage~


	5. Some Whiskey To Settle The Torment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! There was actually a lot of support for chapter 4 and I was really surprised by that, thank you so damn much! 
> 
> ⚠⚠Severe violence is in this chapter for anyone who is sensitive. But I doubt anyone would have read this far if they were. Anyhow, this took me too long to write, ENJOY!!

Suddenly, Elest found that she really hated breathing through her nose. The whole idea that you could nearly taste something if the sense was strong enough.

The notion came in on the worst of times. It was like burning cram, or brahmin steak that had been sitting in the sun for well over a few months. The small hairs in her nose seemed to tingle at the smell of decaying bodies that riddled the wooden floorboards of the Nipton town hall. Corpses lying in a pool of their own damn blood that had crusted and dried into the surface of the timber. Heads chewed and mangled so brutally that their skulls were only attached to their necks by threads of skin, nearly unrecognizable. A similar sight to what she had grown accustomed to from her young teens, though what had been more familiar had to be the pooling of gore on sand. Some things never washed out. Bookshelves toppled over to the flooring, the destroyed books littering the floors, chairs thrown over with piles of rubble casted in every known direction of the T-shaped room.

Both Boone and Elest were quiet, as if coming to an understanding that this sight was nothing that you could talk about. The courier didn't know if she was going to throw up her insides, debating on whether it would be worth the hassle to find her radiation mask that was more than likely at the bottom of her duffel bag. Mouthing a quick prayer, she pressed onward. That was until Boone grabbed her by the strap of her traveling pack, she stumbled back -throwing a haste glare over her shoulder at the former 1st Recon. "What?" 

At first, Elest thought that Boone had merely stopped her to let her listen to her hound dog's alerting barks echoing through the building, showing that there could perhaps be a threat nearby. That was until she recalled that Rex was still stalking around the remaining buildings outside. Fingers clenching the handle of All-American, she scanned the area thoroughly. Only guessing that the man alongside her was doing the same. "Your count?" She asked softly, with no response he nodded. 

All he had seen was a mere fucking Mongrel paw before he dared to take his shot. Her fear of those skin and bone wolves still managed to make her heart speed up with terror, the charred and burned meat on the sides of their necks bearing the same branding of the Legion flag. The bullet flying from the chamber of Boone's rifle had her ears flood with white noise, the perfect opportunity to bare no discomfort with her fires. The vexed growls were not heard as the hound was hastily caught in the line of fire of her weapon, Boone's shot had been the one to take it down as her's had merely made the animal slip and crash onto the floorboards. Catching the attention of the hounds pouncing around on the upper level. Trodding down the staircase as if they had been promised snacks, hell they probably were. The treats being the both of them. 

Snapping jaws in their direction, four legion mongrels with empty stomachs came rushing at them. Elest's ammunition case clicked and she sensed that the clip was now out, she needed to learn the valuable lesson that using her ammo in the way of spraying the bullets aimlessly would give her anything but positive results. Nonetheless, in the current moment, she had resulted in panic. What else could she do? Beat the barrel of her gun into the angry hound's face until it stopped making noise? She was not known to be so merciless, not that she had a choice with Boone kept occupied with the three other dogs: the biggest and the two runts, of course hers had to be just right. Only a bit smaller than Rexy; who was more than likely gleefully galloping around the decaying town. "Oh fuck!"

Surely that would be enough for the former Recon to know that she was having issues, but it seemed that he had grown accustomed to her chattering whether they were in battle or not. Elest rose her weapon in the air just as the mongrel had gotten close enough to pounce on her, she stumbled back against the double doors. The hound's teeth clamping down on the scope of All-American, the sounds were horrendous. Ones she was once all too familiar with, her vivid memory of when she was at the mercy of the legion dog: Lupa all while under Vulpes Inculta's rule. The wet chewing and relentless growls filled her still ringing ears as she wrestled with the animal. "Boone!" 

Slipping, her hands lost their grasp on the grip and the stock smashed against the wooden boards. Elest rose her pipboy in defense to keep herself from becoming puppy chow, the dog's jaw fastened itself onto the metal clasp and the skin surrounding it. The pain was vile, a bite that was not as vicious as Lupa's from nearly six years ago but it was still secure. The animal shook it's head, teeth sinking in and piercing her flesh. She could already see the blood pooling from the small impales of her flesh from around the teeth, the haste movements of its head ripped open the skin of her right arm. Thankfully it had only lasted for those few seconds before Boone had come to her aid, hands wrapping securely around the animal's neck. She could only speculate that he had snapped its neck. The hold on her arm softened, the body of the hound sagged onto the floor before crashing down. Immediately her left hand applied pearl-white pressure to the injury, the blood cascading down the curve of her limb -dripping to the floor. "Dammit, Elest. What's wrong with you?"

She wasn't sure if that had been the first time he had used her name, very callow of her to like the scolding undertone he had as he planted his knees on the floorboards. "Boone, I'm fine. I'm fine! Just a flesh wound! I'm f-"

More than evident that Elest had been through worse, but that did not mean her body was going to take an injury lightly -her head grew heavy and the sight of blood pooling out of her forearm seemed to be very frightening. Even now. "Where's your doctor's bag?" 

" _Gee_ , I don't know. Probably in my backpack." She spoke through clenched teeth, she had not even been caught off guard -one dog had been enough for her to handle as well. Sure, she was more talented with a silver tongue than she was at sinking ammunition into some poor bastard but this was downright pathetic. Briskly, Boone had heaved her duffel bag to his side before he unzipped it and hastily perused the contents. Briefly, she feared he would come across something she had inside there that slipped her mind -whether it was the framed photograph of the Vance family or a glowing sign with bold letters reading: **"Former Legion Wife!"** If his movements had slowed to a much more calm pace, surely she would have managed to determine whether or not his hands were trembling as much as they appeared to. "Just get the disinfectant and the bandages." She spoke, face flushed from the trauma. "Boone?" 

His hands were trembling, now that he had pried open the doctor's satchel to acquire the Antiseptic and gauze -she noticed the man trying to hide it. Face expressionless, all thanks to the sunglasses hiding his gaze. "I don't have medical training, but I spent enough time around NCR doctors to know how to patch up a wound."

"I have experience." She replied, well -she suppose that she did. Arcade had aided her in more than just her addiction. Giving her insight into science and medical training, only just. Siri back at the Fortification Hill had taught her well from the frequent trips she had to make to her after a brutal punishment. 

"I'm not going to let you sterilize it."

"Why not?!"

Disregarding her juvenile attempt at quarreling with him on whether or not she could patch herself up, he wouldn't doubt for a second that she could. But watching the blood run down her wrist, dripping to the lumber flooring and smearing on the casing of her Pipboy made his stomach twist up and his head swim. Even If it was nothing more than a dog bite, but the look of pain in her eyes had not faltered -whether or not she was determined to take care of her own hide. "Move your hand."

Giving in, her fingers slowly unraveled their tight grip on her skin. the loss of pressure gave the blood means to ooze out. "I'm okay, I'm okay." She whispered, not certain on whether she was trying to convince herself or Boone. Taking hold of her hand, he sprayed that agonizing elixir on the punctures. She hissed and whined at the stinging of the ointment passing through the blood, Boone immediately began to bandage the bite. "Shit, okay. That wasn't so bad -was it?" He couldn't believe that she had the audacity to laugh after her words. 

His first thought was that he needed to teach her how to aim, as it was becoming very clear that she couldn't do it herself. "I ran out of ammunition." She spoke, as if reading his mind. Boone couldn't help but shake his head. Looking at her as he would a child, she couldn't be more than three years younger than him living out here in the Mojave all on her own. How in the hell could she not know how to kill her enemy without getting bruised or grazed? 

"Can you get up?" He inquired.

"The dog bit my arm, not my leg."

"You didn't answer my question."

Elest opened her mouth to retort but could not find a reliable answer. In the short time she had been traveling with him, she had not once seen him suffer an injury -and he was seeing the aftermath of not just one but two. Either something beyond life and death was out to chew her to the bone or that Vit-o-matic Vigor Tester back at Doctor Mitchell's in Goodsprings had been incorrect when it said her Luck was a solid five on a scale to ten. "I don't know. Help me up."

Once she stretched out her left hand, he grabbed ahold of her wrist and pulled her to her feet. Her right arm pressed securely underneath her chest. He was starting to think that he had been correct, thinking that she was uncoordinated and getting herself into sticky situations that could have been nimbly avoided. Elest released a discomforting grunt, shifting on her feet as if anticipating to fall and roll her ankles. She bent down to retrieve her duffel bag but Boone quickly interrupted her advancement. "Let me carry it."

She supposed that taking his offer as charming and kind would have been the most humane thing to do at that moment, but all she could think was how weak and frail it made her feel. Elest couldn't have halted the scoff that surpassed her lips even if she tried, though she didn't object. Still reaching down to retrieve All-American that had fallen from her hands. Elest at this moment was all for merely walking right back out that door and finding the nearest bed to fall into, one more legionary or their mongrels coming their way before the sun went down and she was going to deem Boone as more trouble than she was able to handle at this moment -vise versa as well. 

How lovely was it that the both of them thought that their paths crossing would not end well. 

Once he had her duffel bag thrown securely over his shoulder, he paid her one more glance. "Are you alright?" 

He had at last spoken the words other than shooting her concerning glances over the couple of minutes since the trauma had been enforced. Swallowing thickly, her throat seemed drier than the Mojave soil. Elest brushed away the loose strands of red hair that had gotten in the way of her vision, "In the outer pocket of my duffel bag. Grab the Med-X."

She didn't need to be told twice about how it was not wise to rely heavily on chems, nevertheless, it seemed that Boone did not desire to waste his breath with his fruitless argument on how she could risk growing an addiction to not only Jet but the painkiller as well. He nodded, fumbling through the open pouch, seeing his eyebrows knitting together over his tinted glasses -she knew he had stumbled across the family photo she had taken from Camp Searchlight. He had done nothing more than graze his eyes over it before taking hold of the small injector and handing it out to her. A weak grin ghosting upon her lips before taking it from him. Finding her correct vein like that one Freeside junkie had shown her four years ago, pressing the needle into her tissue, she injected the serum. 

She had never been dependent on Med-X specifically, noticeably more obsessive over Jet than anything else. But that washed over feeling, blood as pure as water soaring through her veins and the pain in her forearm fazed out in all but five seconds was always welcome in her mind. The man in front of her stared, his gaze was disquiet as he watched the glossy look she had in her eyes. High, but not out of her mind. "Done?"

Nodding, she unclasped the empty casing of ammunition from her weapon. Moving forward to get more of her .223 caliber rounds from her bag that Boone held, quickly clipping new bullets into the gun. "Here, now I am."

-

The search had been. . . Tense. The both of them seemed on edge as they cautiously passed through the corridors of Nipton Town Hall. The more they prowled the more bodies riddled their wake, Elest was more fearful that one more enemy would come barreling their way. Not that it would be the end of them with how effortlessly Boone could take out his opponents. The Med-X had both made the fogginess clear from her head but at the same time had made her notions spin. She was able to clinch both hands around her carbine without feeling the pain from the fresh dog bite. 

Boone must have been able to sense her uneasiness. Grip just a bit too tight on the handle of her weapon, she began to wonder why the both of them decided to leave Rex outside, allowing him to roam freely when he more or less kept her serene. "What are we looking for?" She finally asked aloud, to Boone's disgruntlement. At the most, the Med-X had managed to ease her commentary. Still, he sighed. 

"The Mayor's office, it's somewhere on the third floor."

The third floor, right Which could be just another invitation for a pack of dogs to ambush them when they least expected it. Taking a quick glance around what seemed to be a dismantled council room, she shook her head. Boone had told her to watch out for frag mines as the moment he had looked over the front desk downstairs, he could see the blinking light of one with the body of a Nipton Settler alongside it. 

She would have done better in thinking that there were not braced traps around every corner, distracting herself momentarily with adjusting the destroyed painting on the wooden wall that was hanging by a bent nail. Elest would have been led to believe that she was alone if it hadn't been for Boone's occasional sigh or footsteps, "it's too quiet." She uttered out. 

"Well, dogs aren't usually quiet. So take that as a good sign."

From the amount of time she spent with Rex, she couldn't argue with that fact. Checking her weapon to see if the safety was off for what must have been the fourth time. Shamefully -Elest stepped over a petrified prospector with their throat ripped open. Eyes wide and mouth agape, she couldn't believe she had allowed Boone to talk her into coming here. Out of all the places they could have gone. . . 

The both of them ambled around wordlessly for a few more minutes before coming across the second set of stairs leading up to the third story. The courier didn't know what to expect, maybe a thin line of tripwire that would let loose a bundle of frag grenades. But it had seemed relatively safe, which only succeeded in putting Elest in a stage of paranoia. She felt compelled to reach out her hand and rest it on the top of Rex's brain case for comfort; forgetting he was not there. A foolish proposal now that she faced the unknown after already suffering an agonizing injury that more worried Boone than herself. 

Stepping through the seemingly harmless door. They could see the dimly lit room that was in their wake, the sound of the sparking cola machines met their ears. The sight of a counter with two different types of coffee makers with half a dozen mugs laying around, as if the both of them had walked in on an abandoned social gathering. Elest hummed to herself, clasping All-American back on her spine before making her way towards the stained fridge pressed up against the peeling wallpaper. "They have a steady collection of alcohol in here. Prepared iguana as well as some yucca plant." Grinning to herself, she gathered the nourishment from the shelves. "Saves us the shame of cooking for ourselves tonight."

Boone didn't reply, merely shifting her duffel bag to his chest prior to unzipping it for her -she delicately placed the food inside before closing it herself. "You never told me what exactly we were looking for." She voiced as he threw the bag over his shoulder. "The Legion is known for being fucking horrendous, what makes Nipton special?"

"Because it's further west, it's not like the Legion to come this far." He replied, leering around at the obnoxious carpet rolled out on the wooden panels. He sulked onward with Elest following after, brown eyes shooting into the untidy and destroyed room on her right as she passed by. Filing cabinets toppled over and papers were thrown on the floor. Halting in front of a closed door with bold letters ironed to the wall reading: **MAYOR**.

"What are you hoping to find anyway?" She inquired, she knew what she wanted to find. Other than a comforting place to stay without any obstacles plowing in their directions? She as well as Boone wanted a solid reason on why the Legion would target Nipton now that the man had given his reasoning on why. She knew as good as any on the only reason you would come to this rotten place was the same reason you would find yourself in the Atomic Wrangler in Freeside. 

Even with a portion of the building nearly ash and shambles, the Mayor's office seemed much nicer than any place she had been in her lifetime, making the Vicky and Vance Casino look a bit more sophisticated than the Mojave Outpost. A working chandelier, a line of pearl white couches with dirty windows the length of the wall -overlooking the middle road that was lined with the crucified Powder Gangers. Without the smoke and bodies, it may have been breathtaking, perhaps. Even the ceiling appeared cleaner and shined than many of the floors she had walked on. 

Unfortunate that the Legion decided that burning this place to the ground would be a charming way of asserting their dominance further west. Beautiful shell of a town -of course, but filled with nothing but filth. A town that asked for it, but more or less didn't deserve the wrath of Legion. No one did.

"Nice." Elest had stated, disregarding the ruined view as she wandered forward; a matching carpet to the one she saw on the first floor by the desk. Much less blood riddled the stitching though. She had nearly forgotten the question she had asked Boone before she had taken in the sight, either way, it appeared that he was not going to reply. The soldier took one sharp glance around the room before making his way straight for the desk at the far back of the room, straightforward and no beating around the bush -fantastic. "The mayor had his own personal Terminal?" She pondered aloud, shadowing the man as he rounded the wideset surface. Moving the Big Book Of Science and tablets of Mentats in front of the monitor. "Do you know how to use one of those?" She asked.

"Yeah." Boone muttered, leaning over to place his fingers on the keys. With a sigh, she let the sound of clicking fill the silence. She glanced down at the thick science book on the surface of the desk before setting her weapon down alongside the Terminal, taking the text into her grip. She spread open the hardback and flipped through the contents. Elest debated on shoving it into her duffel bag that was currently hauled over Boone's shoulder, knowing if she ventured back into Freeside one of these days then she could give it to Arcade knowing he would get a kick out of tearing the bits and pieces of information apart. She would more than likely end up telling him just to record his words on holotape and release it into the wild.

Damn, how long had it been since she had seen him? Nearly half a year, at the least. Seven months maybe. Once she had begun taking those courier jobs -he said that Cass would be much more useful for her as "Couriers don't need doctors". As if he was nothing more to her than a medic or a mercenary, maybe she was holding those words against him, but she didn't blame him for wanted to go back to the old Mormon Fort. Nevertheless, it was as if he had unintentionally foreshadowed her near-death. She wondered if he knew, put two and two together while listening to the radio that she was the courier from Goodsprings.

If he dared to believe that she hadn't come to see him because she thought he was boring, she was going to smack those thick glasses off his face for being so stupid for someone who was a Latin-speaking doctor. And with that said, she decided that it would be best to just set it on the surface of the desk for the time being.

"Mind if I lay down while you continue your ongoing research?" Elest inquired, hint of sardonicism in her tone; referring to the quite tempting couches lining her right side of the wall. 

"Wait, take a look at this." Boone made a move to lay his hands on the back of the computer before forcibly craning it to the side so she could peer at the documented information. "The Mayor had the nerve to keep a journal."

"Damn, and he didn't even have a password? Notorious." Elest leaned forward, stretching out her hands to place them on the keys. Clicking wordlessly on them as she stationed herself into the menu of the Mayor's entries. Bold green lettering that read: **WELCOME!** With an irksome font, underneath the tag was four titles. One to reset the mainframe connection and the other's were named logs. "Doesn't it seem odd reading a dead man's journal entry?" She asked the man beside her, he didn't comment. More or less because both of them were not exactly sure if the Mayor was dead yet. It wasn't as if they had gone looking for his bones. 

Without another word, Boone turned the terminal back to face him -much to Elest's annoyance. Her hands moving back to her sides, she could only guess he had clicked open the logs. She stood idly by -pondering if it would be worth a couple of moments of peace if she were to at that moment move over to the couches and set her ass on one of them. She wouldn't be able to sleep if she tried, but it would be lovely to rest her legs. 

Watching the frown on Boone's features, it only seemed to crane down and she could expect that what he was reading wasn't as dandy as the opening screen made it all out to be. Releasing a gruff "Hmm." He clicked on the keyboard once more.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing. The man is a son of a bitch."

Elest cracked a grin, as amusing as it was to hear Boone spout such wording. It wasn't giving her the exact information that she was striving to receive. Maneuvering herself closer to him and positioning herself as close as she could get to the screen, the courier had to step on the tips of her toes to see over Boone's hunched form. Making out the virescent lettering of an entry titled: **Testing. . .**  

For a moment, both of them did nothing but read the words on the screen. Elest could feel her heart sink to her toes. The mayor was a goddamn fool -to put it benevolently. Anyone would know that operating with Caesar's Legion would get you anything but caps in the pockets of your trousers. "Shit." She huffed, straightening her back before Boone had looked up, she had only read the first slide of the frame before deciding enough was enough for her. 

"Mr. Fox. . ." Boone spoke underneath his breath, tapping on the edge of the keyboard. "probably a nickname."

"Didn't know the Legion used nicknames. I thought that was for the NCR." Still, she pondered for a moment. "Maybe it's a code name, don't you think?"

"Maybe."

This time, Elest didn't particularly enjoy the silence that overtook them. Afterward, Boone had asked her if she could make a copy of the entries into her Pipboy so both of them would have both evidence of what had caused the unfortunate accident. She nodded, though her attention was still diverted. She had a sick feeling rolling inside of her intestines, as if factuality was staring her in the eyes yet she could not see it. Residing in the Mayor's surprisingly comfortable seat, she busied herself with the logs. "This guy mentioned in the third entry must have been the one leading the attack on the town."

"I thought so too."

"So. . . He may be relatively important, right?"

"It's possible."

Transferring the information into her Pipboy, she, at last, logged out of the Mayor's notes. Knowing that the both of them had spent too much time already in this place for Rex to still remain comfortable outside. She grabbed All-American from the desk as well as the Science textbook she had debated on bringing with. Clasping the weapon on her back, she buried the book in between her left arm and chest. "Come on."

Boone didn't argue, he managed to notice the slight change in her usual witty and quite perplexing standpoint. Lips tilted down and appearing to be inside her head, it could be the Med-X was thinning its influence on her and the pain was slowly coming back to strangle her nerves. He could only ponder. They made their way out of the third floor, wandering down the wide set of stairs -a sharp glance around at the silent corridors and the scattered bodies. The smell of smoke and rotting flesh could still be made out, unpleasant but thankfully not as strong as the moment they stepped through the doors. 

Elest took a hasty look at the gauze wrapped just underneath the device clasped onto her wrist, blood beginning to coat through the cloth. She would have to bandage it once more in the next hour or so. But her mind did not stay focused on such for long. Boone shifted the bag to his other shoulder before adjusting his grip on his rifle, as if anticipating a bundle of enemies to be awaiting their presence outside the doors. 

In another frame of mind she would have been dreading the same circumstance, instead of floating off into different pictures and notions. Why had that name sounded so familiar? So distastefully known and was on the tip of her tongue in a way she couldn't pronounce, why had the title: Mr. Fox stunned her? The notion began to concern her after they had made it to the first floor and out the doors into the town of Nipton. Rex had been waiting at the bottom of the steps, tail wagging with wheezes escaping his throat. "Hey bud, did you miss us?" 

Yapping gleefully at their presence, he stalled until both of them had reached the cracked surface of the road before licking at their fingers and clawing at their feet. It was heartwarming to watch, yet the both of them were growing more and more nauseous at the sight of the ravaged town and decided that giving love to the cyborg dog could wait until they could no longer see the horrid sights. Her vivid sense of ailing had concealed any pains of hunger that she had been feeling prior. Even the adorable frolic movement Rex did while waiting for them wasn't enough to pull her from her thoughts. "Fox. . . V-" The word died on her tongue immediately, accidentally planting her foot into a small pothole in the pavement and stumbling to the ground. "Fuck, fuck!" 

Surely confusing Boone at whether or not she was cursing over her uncoordinated traveling technique or if she was mentally bothered. Her newly healed knee smacked into the roadwork. "Ah, shit!" He heard her hiss as he halted his footsteps momentarily, watching her rake her hands down her scarred biceps as if dusting them off. Her jaw was noticeably tense. "You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." She forced out like a bad habit, standing in her boots as she tried to rationalize the newly sorted information. Foolish of her to not know immediately once she had read that name over Boone's shoulder. Vulpes. It was fucking Vulpes Inculta who had led the attack on Nipton. And for all that she knew he was the one who had caught sight of her when she wandered too close to the town. Only two legionaries knew her face well enough to notice her with one look: Lucius and Vulpes Inculta. And only one of them would send a group of assassins to track her down in thirty minutes notice. Vulpes Inculta. It had to be him, it pieced together almost too well for it to be a coincidence.

Oh god, even so, she wanted it to be a fucking coincidence. 

Elest had been so close to him, and hadn't even realized it. And if she would have mistaken the Legion crimson for some fucking party robes then she would have stumbled into something she could handle, probably end up being forcibly hauled back to Lucius without a second thought. He'd name her punishment, maybe even her death. She didn't know, it had been three years; nearly four since she had seen the man. Either of them to be honest, and she hadn't even seen a Legion follower up until a week ago when one nearly took out her kneecap. 

They were pushing west and they hadn't even taken the Dam. She needed to get the fuck out of here. Her and everyone who had disrupted their peace once in their lifetime before they were dragged into denigration of a whole new kind. Fuck, if she thought they were cruel to her when she was just very open about how much she despised Caesar and the ones he held in high regards for the Legion -she couldn't even fucking imagine what they would do now. Fuck her to death with a rusted machete? Beat her skull into the sand with spiked knuckles? Or maybe just plain ol' crucifixion. 

No, Lucius would deem the cross too good for her. 

The both of them ventured down the road that led to the monument of the two rangers shaking hands on I-15. There was a swelling in her chest at the thought and sight of the place, and just for a moment the terror weighing down her hands and feet was forgotten. They didn't speak, Rex's mechanical leg clanking against the road as they continued on. The further they got from Nipton, the more clean their conscious became -eyes still rotten from the sights but at the most, they were no longer near it. Elest unclenched her fists, a small ache pounding through her arm as a sign that the Med-X was beginning to wear off. She didn't mind, it was one more thing to distract her from the new found fact.

And she really did need to get his name out of her head.

Passing by a caravan trader with their two bodyguards and brahmin, Boone and Elest descended up to the high ground of the NCR Outpost. Boone paying her a quick glance -one not able to be perceived due to his sunglasses. "Is your arm alright?"

Snapping out of it, she took another glance down at the bandaged wound underneath her Pipboy, the once faded pink of blood soaking through the cloth was now a shade of Vermillion. "Fuck, yeah I'm fine."

"You'll have to change that soon."

Lots of things that she had to change, she thought about it for a moment as Rex's snout pressed against the back of her knee. She didn't have to wait to find out who took over the dam, just fix Rex and get out of the east. Maybe shave the side of her head to appear to be one of those common raiders while she was at it, or just change her name. Maybe dye her hair bleach blonde and be done with it, flee somewhere cold. She nodded curtly to his words. His lips twitched at her emotionless action but decided not to comment. Perhaps he should have, but it just wasn't his place.

"Give me a second." Elest voiced, taking a quick step towards Boone to latch onto the strap of her bag. "I still have my papers in here somewhere. The ones that tie me to this shithole. I'm sure that being nearly killed on a job is enough to put a dent in a job description."   

"You never quit your job as a courier?" He inquired, she jerked out a crumbled document before showing the first sign of expression since leaving Nipton by tilting her lips into a smirk. Smoothing out the piece of paper on the surface of her stomach and zipping the duffel bag up. 

"I didn't have the time, didn't know how either." She continued on, the monument in clear view as they passed by the wrecked and destroyed Pre-war vehicles. The sun beating down overhead as they settled on the higher ground. Caravan's attempting to travel west waiting impatiently with their brahmins stuck in the pins, others had rolled out extra bedding mats to lay on in any of the shade they could find. NCR troops standing by, some with clipboards and others with service rifles stuck in their hands. Boone found this as a comfort as he made a move to throw his weapon over his back. A curt nod thrown at anyone who stared in his direction. 

Elest knew Boone held high respect for the NCR, and as much as she could expect; he hated it all the same. It was what she had learned from her mother and father who loved the New California Republic half to death, but they had given her parents nothing back in return. Serving the military always seemed like a foolish idea to her, seeing how it had shaped the people she knew best into one's unrecognizable. But every soldier that stepped past Boone and her seemed to voice their respect for the Former 1st Recon. "That red beret's lookin' good, soldier." A trooper voiced as they passed by, through the seemingly crowded outpost. 

Elest didn't know why, but she found that comment a bit humorous. Unable to keep it to herself. "Amen to that, soldier." She winked, anything to demean the former Recon in his own territory. 

"Really?" Boone groused.

She fought back the urge to salute him all while a familiar looking man she knew as Sergeant Stillborn passed by. As much as it seemed to exasperate Boone that she felt the need to pull such juvenile stunts -he was glad to see something so close to her signature nature after nearly twenty minutes of constant discouragement from what he could only guess was the sight of so many mangled forms. Not to mention her swift takedown by a lone Legion mongrel. "Keep yourself busy for a moment, I'll head up to the roof to see if the lookout is still there. Head over to the Outpost barracks, see if they have any Gecko steak for Rex." 

"Yeah, no problem." Even so, she had a feeling that he had something else on his mind, hell, he always did. Even if those sunglasses and nonchalant expression hid everything in his notions, this time it felt heavy. He beckoned the hound to follow him, sauntering by like he had been here once or twice in his time serving the New California Republic. Rex whimpered while they inched further from her, more than likely Rexy still believed that she was the one with food hidden in the bottoms of her boots. Once they disappeared through the double doors encased by a barrier made from stockpiled brown sacks, wearied wooden crates laying in the sand alongside it. She marched up the large wooden planks balanced on metal beams, creaking underneath her weight as she reached the solid and sturdy upper ground. 

A woman was occupying the peeling seat a couple yards from where Elest currently stood, she wore ranger armor as well as a grey ranger hat laying over her head. A cowboy repeater draped over her shoulder. God, she could recall Cass talking about this lady after a few mouthfuls of whiskey when Elest had mentioned being short on caps nearly a year prior. Ghost, or something close to that. Marching up closer she could see the thick binoculars in her grasp. "You're Ranger Ghost, right?"

She must have startled the woman, judging by the way her shoulders had tensed, but in a stoic manner. "I didn't hear you come up, are you a courier? If you don't mind any walking then I have some work for you. I need some good eyes and ears."

"No, I'm not." If felt immensely satisfying being able to, at last, say that, the pay had been decent depending on the level of menace for the route taken. But even her last package had given her nothing but death -all for fifty caps short to three hundred. "I came here to report on Nipton."

"Shit, well if it ain't my lucky day." The words spoken held nothing short to exasperation, setting the darkly colored binoculars on the surface of the small round table before giving her attention to Elest. Thick sunglasses hiding the look of her eyes, making her feel almost exposed -as if she was looking straight at Boone. The fucking NCR and their damn shades. "From the look on your face, I'm guessing it is worse than I thought."

"It was the work of the Legion." She pleaded silently that Ghost wouldn't ask of her to go into the details, perhaps If she would morph her features into sheer terror so she could find a way to wholeheartedly avoid the situation. The woman cursed softly, making a move to uncap the cowboy hat from the surface of her steel-colored hair. 

"Are you fucking kidding me? This far out of their borders?"

"Sorry to be the bringer of bad news."

Ranger Ghost dug her fingers into the grey brim of her hat, exhaling deeply. "Not your problem, thanks anyway. Be safe walking down those planks. They'll give any day now."

Elest couldn't say that was what she desired to hear before parting with the woman. Perhaps a lookout would be best to give the news to, but giving the true evidence of the Mayor's mistakes of trusting what she believed to be Vulpes would be enough for Ranger Jackson to get more men out here as soon as possible. Surely she wouldn't have to assist them in giving the real name of 'Mr. Fox' and they could come to such a conclusion on their own. It was not as if Vulpes Inculta concealed his name, he desired the mere title to strike fear into his opponents. And if he even remembered her, he would be more than fucking amused to know of the terror manifesting inside of her at the mention of his presence in the same place she had been.  

That had gone as awkward as she had anticipated it to be, a silent walk down had her pondering whether she should take the copied journal logs to the Mojave Outpost Headquarters before joining Boone. The man was more than likely drowning in his own miserable silence once more, not that she couldn't sympathize. But inhalers full of Jet had aided her in keeping those unwanted notions at bay. Boone had nothing to cope with but his hunting rifle pointing at one of Caesar's men, and as toxic as it was for her, she couldn't just walk away from a broken man. 

She ambled to the double doors leading to the barracks and shoved them open. For a place that was relatively crowded outdoors, here it seemed to be pleasantly vacated. Just a handful of troops and soldiers wandering around the bar, two or three traders occupying the stools on the other side of the stocked shelf. She saw Lacey well before she saw Boone, Rex's face buried into a bowl of meat at the legs of the 1st Recon's stool.

Elest made her way up to him, about to take her seat alongside Boone and order the both of them a shot of vodka. But with a swift glance shot to her left, she could make out the evident sight of that rattan cowboy hat and those damn rosy cheeks indicating that ol' Sharon Cassidy had drunk more than one bottle of whiskey on her own. "Lacey, get me another fucking round." 

"Your call, hun."

Same old, Elest could have laughed. Patting Boone on the shoulder as a signal that she had arrived, she shot a grin over to the woman -not sure if she had noticed the courier's presence quite yet. "Hey, Cass."

Blue eyes looking up and under the brim of her cowboy hat, her full lips parted and her hands abandoned the glass nearly empty with whiskey. "Well, I'll be damned. Look who finally decided to roll in."

The amusing start to what Elest hoped to be a pleasant conversation, caught the ears of Boone who paid her a quick glance. "Sorry I haven't been able to visit." She voiced, a somber smile overtaking the curve of her lips. "The last few months haven't really been easy."

"Save it, no need to apologize. Especially since I was beginning to think that you were fucking dead." With that, Rose of Sharon's eyes found Lacey as the merchant set down another shot glass filled to the brim with her favorite poison. 

Damn, had Elest been gone long enough for the woman to believe that the Mojave had finally gotten around to swallowing her whole? Elest felt a pinch of guilt in her chest, she knew that Cass played the strong suit with the bad bitch attitude, and for the most part it was true. A headstrong woman with an iron liver, if you asked her. But she wasn't one to worry. She hated to think that Arcade had been drawn to the same conclusion, blaming himself for not staying at her side when she asked him not to leave her, god she'd kill him. "I kind of was." She replied briskly. She did not give Cass a moment to respond before her eyes adverted to the former soldier. "Boone, this is Cass. She guarded me in the Mojave for a little bit when I was on jobs."

"It was the only way I could get out of this shithole without Jackson pissing down my fucking neck." As if she had completely dismissed the lovely time they had on the roads and brief flirtation exchanged, not that the both of them could manage to dig it up in conversation. "Never can stray too far from the NCR, can you El?"

She never liked anyone saying that nickname except Arcade. Her ears felt like they were tinged a bright crimson while Elest rolled her eyes. Gaze landing on Boone for a brief moment, he didn't seem to show much of a response to Cass's inquiry. "What can I say? Been around them all my life."

Ah, good old fashion deception to the ones that you fought side-by-side with. 

With Rex wandering around the inside of the barracks, Elest and Cass took their time catching up, the courier encouraging Boone to speak about some of his opinions on the topics that arose. Elest was always a lightweight when it came to alcohol, but the drink had soothed those tingling nerves and the throb of her wound. Her tongue still warm with whiskey; she had called it a day. "You think Jackson will give me and Boone a bed?" She inquired, perhaps Boone would be gifted with prosperity as a former member of the 1st Recons, she wouldn't be as lucky. If she was still known as Rowena Vance, maybe so. But Elest was nothing more than a nameless courier. Nevertheless, she could take the chance. 

"Fuck if I know. He wouldn't give dick shit to Major Knight if he didn't have paperwork giving him the say-so. But maybe he'll want to appear like a white hat parader and help out a fellow NCR soldier, maybe you too if you stick your tits out enough."

"Nah, I don't think he's like that." Elest replied simply, shaking her head as she pressed her left hand on Rex's snout as he wandered up to her for comfort. He whimpered sheepishly, causing Boone to move his attention to the hound; outstretching his hand to scratch underneath Rexy's ear. 

"You still have Rexy around?"

Elest nodded, "He isn't getting any better though. But he can still save me more times than I can count. Still, I was attacked by a damn mongrel back in Nipton." She rose her bandaged arm from the surface of the counter. 

"You've always been a shitty shot, so it doesn't surprise me."

Boone couldn't help but crack a soft grin at those words, it was amusing to hear that she had never been particularly skilled in ranged combat. From what he had seen, she wasn't any good at melee either. Though he couldn't blame her for that one, there was always too much risk in being so close to an unpredictable foe. Still, a young and quite attractive woman out in the Mojave always seemed to have two options from his experiences. They either learn how to protect themselves against the wasteland or were left for dead and any of the things worse than that. How could Elest hardly know how to lodge a bullet into her enemy and manage to live past her adolescent years? Sheer luck or damn good friends from the looks of it. "Anyway," Cass continued. "Where's Arcade?"

She knew this question would come up sooner or later. Cass was probably thinking the worst, especially with the look of disappointment flood through her face. Cass knocked back another shot of whiskey, setting the glass aside as Lacey and her caught gazes of a moment, probably having a wordless quarrel between those seconds. "Well then, my condolences."

"No, nothing like that. He's still alive for all I know." Elest's eyes met with Boone's when she went to turn and see if he had been listening. Dammit. She turned her head to face the counter. "We had a disagreement, and he ended up heading back to Freeside without me."

"Damn, here I was thinking you were imperishable. Even I'll shed a tear to that." Cass tapped on the surprisingly cold surface of the counter. Lacey began to gather the used shot glasses and three whiskey bottles from their placement in front of the three of them. Cass's was empty, Boone's a third of the way there and Elest's just about half. "Closing time?" She asked. 

"Just your luck. How about you go somewhere and sleep that off?" 

"How about Major Dick Knight's loft?"

"Very funny, Cass." 

Elest shook her head, an easeful grin stuck to her lips as she pulled herself from the rigid stool. Her backside had grown numb from her placement on the cheap cushion, she clasped her hand on Boone's shoulder. "Come on big guy." Elest voiced, to him it nearly sounded like a coo. "From the looks of it, you drank that like water."

Cass scoffed, "like a man after my own heart. I'm almost turned on."

Boone decided it was best to just ignore the red-haired merchant's comment, rising from the bar stool. If he didn't know any better he would have said that Elest who stood before him was trying to aid him in walking, but from the looks of it -Elest needed the help more than the both of them. "I didn't know you drank," Boone spoke, one of his few statements spoken since the two women had began catching up. He decided to withstand it when Elest held onto the clothing on his back for support. 

"Didn't know you did either." She shot back, he couldn't help but wonder who would be the first to throw up the contents of their stomachs. "Come on Rexy boy. Mama has to get her rest."

Trying his best to disregard her way of speech, more or less calling herself 'mama'. He aided her in walking. Maneuvering his hand underneath her right arm to rest the palm of his hand on her ribs. Rex had perked up, whining impatiently at the foot of the double doors. "Don't worry about her, I'll make sure she doesn't get herself in trouble." Boone assured Cass who still had not pulled her form from the surface of the stool.

"Whatever, just make sure she doesn't choke on her own vomit in her sleep." She adjusted the straw-colored brim of her cowboy hat. "Anyway, nice meeting you Boone." 

Usage of his name caught him off guard. He grunted, nodding sternly. "Yeah, you too." Either way, he had a feeling that Elest would want to say her farewells to the wistful spirit in the morning. At the moment, Elest had her full attention on Rex, crooning at the animal as they opened the door. They were overtaken by the heated air and humidity that made it much more throttling than it had been when the sun was still up. 

"I hate whiskey." Elest huffed.

"Why'd you drink it?" Boone asked. It seemed to be a compelling argument as the woman didn't have a reply on hand. "Sleeping in the pin alright with you?"

She grumbled, he could only guess that she couldn't care where they resided as long as her head soon felt relatively normal. She shifted, hand tightening its coil in the shirt over his back. "I get to rest my head on my duffel bag, though." 

He supposed that Elest thought he was going to rest his hide as well, he should. But with the fresh sights of Nipton inside of his head, he had not intoxicated himself enough to fall asleep without ease. Not to mention that even if there were men and women of the NCR patrolling the I-15, he needed to know with his own eyes that the courier would be there in the morning. Was he worried for her? It was possible, especially after watching her combat style over the week. He contemplated just strapping couch cushions on her form and hoping for the best. "Come on, you aren't that drunk." He stated as she nearly stumbled over the toes of her shoes when both of them reached the gates. 

"I haven't had alcohol in years, chems are better."

He frowned, "you-" Boone found himself halting the lecture before it fully rolled off his tongue. The argument was futile, especially when he was trying to talk some sense into a moderately drunk woman who was currently coaxing her fingers in the hem of his shirt -he would have considered it odd under different circumstances. Once they reached the merchant pin, he aided her through the gate and to the far back where there was thankfully a thin bedding. She slumped down, brushing her hair back -much to Rex's dismay. Boone heaved the duffel bag off of his shoulder before laying it against the fencing, "sleep on your side."

Elest looked like she desired to retaliate in a fatuous way, but became to idle to do so. Leaning back to lay her head on the bag, the Vance family frame poking into the cartilage of her ear. She meant to thank him but only mumbled incoherent words, the former Recon shook his head. Bending down to his knees and residing next to her, the back of his head pressing into the metal wiring of the gate as well as his back. He stared up at the darkened sky, the few whipped clouds decorated over the dull stars. Remembering the embarrassing way both him and Carla used to stare at them, her more intently than him. 

"They're so much brighter outside of the city without all of the lights. . ."

They seemed much more dim to him now, without her that was. Maybe they were the same but his mind could not comprehend the notion that those lights dared to shine as bright as they did when his wife was still at his side. Rex whined, shuffling closer to the man -which caught him off guard as usually, the hound would snuggle as close to Elest as his legs would allow. The dog's mouth fell down to rest on his thighs, tail wagging gently as Rexy dozed off along with the courier aside him. 

Boone found it as a comfort. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And welcome to the end! Cass, Arcade, and Boone are my favorite followers and I can't fucking wait to introduce Arcade into this. I'm underage and never been drunk so forgive me if it wasn't spot on!
> 
> ⚠If anyone is curious!!!: I will be posting the backstory of Rowena Vance/Elest VERY soon. It involves a lot about her mother and will probably end up being longer than this if i continue with it. 
> 
> STAY TUNED! Sorry for rambling and typos.


	6. The Brand Doesn't Say, So What's My Name?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! This is probably the longest wait for a chapter so far, honestly this was suppose to be posted this morning but there was difficulties (smh they better be resolved) but HEY GO CHECK OUT ANOTHERLIE ON ARCHIVEOFOUROWN BECAUSE THAT FABULOUS BITCH HELPED ME EDIT THIS!  
> She's also the reason i have been watching Gotham instead of writing, but don't tell her i said that Shh.  
> Enjoy!

During the restless hours of the night, Boone had made it a habit of keeping his eyes open for trouble. Touching the rifle in his grip, he watched the same few NCR soldiers patrol the I-15. The night was quiet, even with a place full of sleeping caravans and Brahmin. He shifted his spine from it's placing against metal cage. Elest muttering bitterly in her slumber, shifting her weight until the back of her head pressed against his outer thigh. 

Before the sun had risen, he could recall the woman whispering incoherent words over the course of the night. He decided it was best to ignore it. Waiting patiently until she began to stir, the sun hardly shone overhead in the sky when she pulled her head from the material of her duffel bag. Elest looked over at him, pressing the palm of her hand against her temple. 

"Headache?" He inquired hoarsely.

Rex had noticed the change in their silence, releasing a soft wheeze and shuffling away from Boone to move over to the courier. Licking contently at her upper jaw. She groaned, her hand pushing against his metallic neck to shove him off. 

"I'm gonna throw up." 

Trying to hide any signs of amusement, he nodded. "Try to hold it in, I know you have empty boxes in your duffel bag."

She grimaced at the thought but decided not to reply, she didn't want to involuntarily throw up on him or her dog. Elest waited patiently as Boone took a hold on the duffel bag, searching through the outer compartments. Taking hold of a broken picture frame, he stared at it for a moment before the woman alongside him hastily snatched it from his hands. Groaning miserably and setting it against her thigh, he unzipped the casing. Taking out the doctor's bag and setting to his side, he found a reasonably empty lunchbox with an emptied box of Sugar Bombs inside. He handed the casing to her. As disgusting as it seemed to her, she didn't argue. Eyes beginning to water before she stuck her head into the box. He tried to drown out her retching and heaving.

"Your friend seems to hold her whiskey well." Boone commented as she spit into the lunchbox, shuddering. 

Elest nodded, clearing her throat before spitting into the lunchbox and shamefully closing the top. wiping her mouth with her pink-tinged bandage. "Says she got her taste for it from her dad." She responded hoarsely, setting the box down in the dried dirt, in which Rex proceeded to sniff. She shoved his snout out of the way. "But I learned from a friend that it can be genetic." 

They had not stayed in the pen for long, Rex had followed after them like a shadow. With the broken family frame in her wounded arm, Elest had searched out a charred fire barrel to toss the discarded lunchbox into with an embarrassed look overtaking her features. Boone had begun wandering around after she had briefly spoken, stating that she would say her goodbyes to Cass before they set off. He had taken her duffel bag with him so she had no choice but to carry around the Vance family photograph. In her mind, it was equivalent to prancing around with an illuminated name-tag reading **"Rowena Vance"** in bright neon colors. She shoved it deeper between her breasts, stabbing through the material of her top that was in desperate need of changing. Perhaps the one she had taken from Vault 34 would do, but it still had the smell of radiation no matter how many times she tried to wash it out.

The walk to the Outpost's Barracks had made her head spin, she knew that the inside of the building would be buzzing with waking soldiers and conversation. Doing wonders for her whiskey headache. Elest couldn't believe that she had allowed Cass to buy her a flask of that golden poison. Perhaps it was the thought of Vulpes coming back to her like a suppressed memory, the horrible man never left her mind but having him mentioned in real time other than her notions; knowing he was still alive was like being punched in the gut. All she wanted was to run to anywhere that wasn't here. It was too much for her to know that the bastard was still breathing, but Vulpes knowing she was out there was like the devil singling you out for unimaginable torture. Elest couldn't even fathom the idea that one day -maybe this year, she could be back in Lucius's hold.

* * *

Cass hadn't been too far. You could find her wherever the drinks flowed the earliest. But this time, she was basking in the sun out on the peeling benches in front of the barracks. Likely to save herself from the obnoxious NCR chatter inside. For once, there seemed to be a decent meal in front of her. A glass of water to filter out last night's bad decisions, a slab of Gecko steak with a side of Instamash. Rex was whimpering and wheezing at the smell, signaling their arrival before Cass heard their footsteps. 

"Ah shit, is this you coming to tell me goodbye? Just when I think you're back. Still running?"

A downcast smile implanted on her lips "I'm always running." Elest responded despondently, forgetting that the woman knew things about her. Not anything pointing in the direction of Caesar's followers, but Cass had found the right pressure points. "But. . . I think this time is for good."

"What?" The belligerent undertone was enough for her to back down, eyes darting down to the sand below. "You've got to be shitting me. For good? What in the fuck can that mean?"

"It means I think that they found me. The ones that. . ." Elest shuddered, shaking her head before looking over at Rex who was desperately trying to catch Cass's attention in hopes that the merchant would cast down the slab of meat. "I either run or I die."

"Well what about Rex? Or the 1st Recon watching your sorry ass? What about your dear scientist? You going to leave them behind with nothing but a shitty fucking Mojave postcard?" The woman sighed, setting her spoon down on her plate with a loud 'clank' to take hold of the glass of water. She looks a long drink from it, something told Elest that she wished it to be whiskey.

"God, I need a drink." Cass grumbled, setting it back on the wood.

"I'm going to get Rex a new brain then run off, take him back to his owner if I have the time. Boone and Arcade. . . Well, they'll do a lot better with me gone." 

Cass scoffed, shaking her head. "I could tolerate you being a Jet junkie, but thinking that you're a burden is just plain bullshit."

"It's not that." Elest retraced, trying to defend herself before she dug herself too deep into her own grave and had to listen through one of the woman's heated discussions about 'life in the Wasteland'. "There is a tremendous difference from being a burden and risking someone's life by just being around them. This time is different." She brushed down her bangs, making sure the short red strands were able to hide the bullet marks over her forehead. 

"Cass. . ." She started, her tone softer than it had been moments before. "I don't know what they will do to me if I'm caught. I have to get out before I'm too close in to run."

A crestfallen silence casted over them, like they were the only ones to show up at a child's birthday party. The doors of the barracks were shoved open and two merchants followed by an NCR trooper came out. Elest winced at the conversation from inside the building but did not halt their conversation. 

Cass soon found it in herself to groan with embitterment. "So, it's really down to your fucking death or getting out of the Mojave before someone wrings your neck?"

"That's a good way to say it. Yeah."

Cass cursed, more than Elest had already grown accustomed to. A string of words spoken under her breath before the merchant shoved a spoonful of Instamash into her mouth. Swallowing it only after. Her eyes squinting from the morning sun.

"Don't get yourself fucking killed again." She demanded. "I mean it. I don't care what sorry asshole is after you. Go somewhere with some fucking mud so far away that they can't get you."

It is what Elest wanted. To follow up on her next life of being someone else, drifting from road to road in hopes that she would find herself before someone else did. But she wasn't sure if she would be able to do that, let alone get as far away from the Colorado River before another party of Legion Assassins were sent her way.

"That's the idea." Elest stated.

* * *

Their goodbye had not been sentimental, nothing more than words of farewell stated. She had a more difficult time pulling Rex from his placement against the table than she did herself, paws scratching at the bench. But it had still been heart-rending, after the time they had spent together in the Mojave, she would have expected Cass to put up a bigger fight. Maybe it was because she hadn't had her morning intake of whiskey, but she couldn't complain. Elest had checked the time on her PipBoy, reading **6:58 am** in a bright virescent hue. Boone had ambled up to greet her once she made her way out of the gated buildings, shooting her gaze back at the barracks as if she hoped that Cass would chase after her. 

"Time to head out?"

Elest swallowed, "yeah." She replied diligently, pulling the shattered picture frame from her chest before stepping closer to the former soldier in order to stuff the photograph into the outer case. 

"Nowhere in particular that you want to go?" He watched as she placed the object in the bag, knowing better not to ask about it even if his curiosity was beginning to bloom. 

"The east always has issues I'm willing to bear." He replied. Elest sighed, thwarted.

"Killing Legion won't fill our pockets with caps unless they have bounties on their heads." She reminded hesitantly, unable to tell his countenance with those damn shades. "If we need to do mercenary work then that's fine."

It was evident to Elest that he was dreaming for something bigger than selling his firearm along her side, it didn't make too much sense to her as he was already her unpaid bodyguard along the deserted roads. It wouldn't make too much of a difference whether they would be endowed or not. He wanted Legion, and she knew that. But killing so many of Caesar's goons before the Earth finished a full spin seemed like a quick way of getting on the tyrant's radar. It was what Boone wanted, but it was further than anything Elest would desire in a dozen lifetimes. 

"The Crimson Caravan Company may be a good place to stop, I haven't been there in a while. I heard they're looking for someone willing to work."

"You can hardly move your legs, and you want to head up to New Vegas?" Boone inquired with distaste. Elest never heard him grouse over their following destination before. This had to be the first. The courier frowned at his reaction, brushing her hair behind her ear. 

"We'll take the route from Boulder city." She curtsied, "The long 15 Highway has Deathclaws littered all over it- I get that. So if we keep up a good pace and Rex gets his nourishment, then we'll be there in less than a week." She had her doubts on whether or not they would be able to stop at the settlement, from what she could hear from Mr. New Vegas on the radio. The Great Khans had recently taken NCR hostages in the midst of the shamble and rubble of the former city. She hadn't been there herself, not for a long time. So Elest wasn't sure what it now looked like after the 1st Battle Of Hoover Dam. She knew from the brief sentences Lucius had spoken while she was under Legion enslavement that there had been huge explosions planted ahead of time from the NCR.

"Do you still want to carry my bag?"

"I don't know, how does your arm feel?"

A good question, throughout the half an hour she had been awake it had been easy to faze out the dull throb of the mongrel bite just above her Pipboy. Especially with her whiskey headache it itching at the back of her head. Elest rose her right hand, leering at the bandage with leaking blood stains bleeding through the fabric.

"I've had worse." She spoke, a false grin eating at her lips as her limb fell to her side. All of this contemplating and unease was making her wish that Boone hadn't been so forthright with his intolerance for drugs and substances alike. She would have hunted down her remaining Jet inhaler and hoped that it would last longer than her regular highs.

"Don't worry about me, I can handle it."

Boone opened his mouth to speak but swallow his words, he wasn't sure that she could. Everyone was capable of telling a lie in order to keep others from prying in business that wasn't theirs. But even with his shades, he could tell that Elest wasn't comfortable. Whether it was the discomfort in the joint of her leg where she still limped, the fresh wound on her forearm, the whiskey hangover, or all three. He would feel much better if she didn't lie about it, let him know the pace that the both of them shoulder be traveling at.

"I'm still going to carry it." He responded to her avail. 

"Fine. But we should head out before the fire ants wake up and burn us to a crisp when we get down the hill."

*** * ***

Boone realized how much walking was taken for granted. In the moments of watching Elest's back, he not only became thankful for his working knees but his ability to shoot a weapon in the correct manner. Every few minutes the woman's right leg would nearly give out, causing her to involuntarily stumble. He couldn't tell whether or not her aim had improved since the Legion dog bite, perhaps it stayed the same. Missing her shot on a fire ant in the distance nearly three times before sinking a bullet into its neck, only just missing Rex who had darted forward to launch on the overgrown creature. An exasperated sigh felt from her lips. Clicking the safety of her carbine into place and releasing her hold on the grip. The strap tugging at the small of her neck.

"Did anyone ever teach you how to shoot a gun?" He couldn't help but ask out of nuisance, especially since he had to watch someone miss a close target not once but three times. 

Elest huffed. Adjusting the fit of her trousers as Rex wandered up to her, his tongue sagging out of his mouth. She continued down the road, the both of them close to her side. 

"Not really, my parents tried to coach me. But time was cut short." The courier swung the weapon over her form from its placement in front of her, the muzzle of the barrel brushing against her tailbone. 

"What did they teach you with?"

Elest grazed over their surroundings, brown eyes trying to catch sight of any lingering foes.  
"Mostly service rifles and snipers I only got to learn for a year. I was a pretty shit aim." She laughed meekly to herself, reaching her fingers down to pet Rexy on his back. "I guess some things never change."

Boone hauled the duffel back up to his neck as it had begun to slide down. "A year huh?" He found it a bit amusing. A child so immensely horrible with firearms that their parents abandon the efforts of teaching them to defend themselves. "They gave up?"

Elest paused, the Recon couldn't exactly make out the expression she had overtaking her features. Her eyes staring further than the horizon, lips pulled tight together. She released a long exhale through her nose. "Yeah, something like that." She hummed, a glum smile tugging at the side of her mouth. Boone didn't press further, knowing that it had in some way pressed into a personal territory.

They watched the roads. The former NCR soldier kept his weapon tight in his hands, glaring at anything in the distance that moved funny. The sun climbed overhead as the three of them traveled, passing by Nipton once more. The lot of them know it was best to keep their distance and travel on the train rails so did not have to see the sights. Only able to make out the thinning smoke clouding the buildings overhead. It must have been a little past noon, the calming temperature of the early morning had completely subsided into the clash of humidity and their sanity. Boone deemed himself lucky with his thin layers of clothing and his beret to keep the sun from pounding down on the top of his head. Surely he would have to suffer through the wicked sunburns on the surface of his arms, but he couldn't find it in himself to complain.

Elest on the other hand? It was easy to say that she looked like she wanted to die.

"We need to stop under some shade." She beseeched, Elest had resorted to braiding her red hair while they traveled in hopes that it would expose her neck to the feeble wind. Over the course of the hour, she had slowly removed her armor-clad like Boone could recall her doing on more than one occasion since the start of their travels. She rolled up the long sleeves of her dull colored vault top, sweat spots covering the majority of the material. He couldn't quarrel with her misery, she had a crippled leg and a healing dog bite to take into consideration. But surely she couldn't compare to Rex, who had thick fur covering his body with bare paws on the ground. 

"I hate this damn desert."

"Check your Pipboy's map for any nearby markers." Boone offered, she glanced over at him, a look of resentment casted into her pupils. 

"I don't take note of every abandoned shack or settlement I come across, you know." Elest retaliated, he deemed her a liar. Knowing that was exactly something she would do. As well as plan their stops ahead. The whiskey from last night had toyed with her mind earlier that morning, and she had been unable to plan out a successful route. Without another word she may regret, Elest positioned herself away from the glare of the sun so she could properly see the screen of the device clasped to her wrist. Clicking and switching through the data currently stored, she frowned.

"Yeah, I got something nearby. An abandoned farmstead." She stared at the screen for a moment before proceeded to click out of it. "I was there with a friend once, let's head up to it."

"It's your call." Though it would have been okay with Boone if they could have pulled through a few more miles before stopping to get more footwork towards their destination, with his lack of slumber and Rex's persistent panting he found it hard to find an argument against it. The bottoms of their feet had begun to ache over the iron train tracks and sharp gravel, once the road from Nipton and the trails crossed -Elest sighed in relief. The road led into large hills, and through a large chasm shaded from the sun, the rocks meters high. 

"This place is a perfect spot for an ambush." Boone voiced.

"Ambush? It's noon. Only fools would sit on top of those rocks under the sun and wait for someone to amble through." She toyed with the ends of her hair wrapped up in a loose braid, but the man had managed to plant the notion into her thoughts. Without another word, she grabbed the muzzle of All-American from its placement against her spine and turned it to her front.

"You're really prudent, even for my standards."

"For good reason." He countered deviously, "eyes and ears, keep your hands on your gun. Understood?"

"Golly, I love when you get all controlling like that." She winked, much to his distress. His brows tightening closer to one another. Her mischievous expression was soon traded for widening eyes and a juvenile grin.

"What? I meant it respectively!" 

"Sure you did," he grunted. 

Boone pulled open her duffel bag and searched through the casing for any spare ammunition, Rex yelped, as if expecting the man to pull out some food for him to munch on. The woman was not a tidy packer for the road. Like a cluttered Pre-war attic, she had a bunch of junk. It was as if she was collecting such for the sole purpose of selling it off to the first caravan trader in sight. But Boone wasn't sure a trader would take an empty box of Fancy Lad Snack Cakes, nor nearly a dozen empty Jet inhalers. For her sake, they better be old. 

Soon he found what he had been searching for: a couple rounds of .223 caliber bullets for the carbine currently hanging around Elest's neck. He stretched out his arm to hand them to her. She stared at them. 

"Uhm, thanks?" Boone wasn't sure if she meant it as an inquiry or was genuine appreciation.

 "My gun is already loaded."

"It's for when you run out." He wanted to retaliate against his thoughtful action, a rushed suspire tumbling from her mouth. They couldn't have another attack on her similar to the one that happened the day before in Nipton, spraying fire heedlessly until she ran out of ammunition and all confidence in her combat fleeing. Without words, she took the rounds from his palm. 

"Keep them close, don't drop them." 

"Yeah, let me just carelessly drop forty caps worth of ammo." Elest muttered. Though she was prone to waste it, he knew it would be better to continue on than to get underneath her skin. She stuffed them into place between her breasts before fastening her grip on the handle of her gun. 

"Can you see the tops of the rocks?"

"Not from here. We aren't close enough, I'm not sure if we'll be able to see them if we venture through either." He watched her shift uneasily on the soles of her boots, hand lowering so she could catch Rex's attention. Boone could tell that she was dreading wandering up that road. Elest's brown eyes shifting from the distance, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. 

"Keep your gun up."

*** * ***

The rocks towered high, fortunate for them that the majority of the sun couldn't reach them in the ravine. As Elest walked, he couldn't help but noticed the odd way she was trotting forward alongside Rexy, but not due to her injured knee. It was like she was fearing the moment where she would step toe first onto a trap. Venturing forward like there was a gun pressed to the back of her skull. A look of wariness, or unease? Maybe both. 

"It's okay boy. . ." She cooed gently to the dog trotting at her side, "if anyone hurts you I'm going to beat their ass." 

Listening to her words, Boone had found himself distracted for only a haste moment and that's all that was needed. The attack of a crazed Viper should have been foreseen, aided with the sound of gravel smashing between her boots. The woman with a bright red hat on her head leaped from her placement on the ground with the intention of smacking Boone across the temple with a bent lead pipe. He had been unable to take a shot; not that he would have had the time anyhow. The sound of Elest's weapon being set off made his ears pop, he watched as the Caliber bullet punctured the Viper's neck. Her bodying falling back and slamming against the pavement.

"Take that bitc-"

The sounds of gunshots had completely halted Elest from finishing her sentence, Rex snarled viciously, snorting at the pavement before picking up a trace and going with it. Running forwards and away from them. 

"Rex!" She shouted, peering through her scope at the man in metal spiked armor with an automatic rifle in his hands. He was aiming at the hound as he barreled towards him. "Goddammit!"

Boone quickly found where the fires among the rocks had been coming from, echoing down into the trench. The gunslinger high above had not been able to blend in with the landscape, their brahmin-skin attire white against the dark vermillion shaded rocks. He didn't waste time in taking his shot, the white-hued individual collapsing backward. Their weapon falling down to the road below. Elest's carbine was firing off more deliberately than he'd grown accustomed to, she cursed under her breath every few seconds. 

"I can't get the shot!" She cried. 

Boone had taken that as an advantage to aid her in taking down the foe, but instead, she released her hold on her weapon and scamper forward. Hastily avoiding the bumpers of the damaged pre-war cars as a bullet nearly buried itself into her shoulder, he gritted his teeth at her unplanned advancement; her body clouding his view through his scope so he no longer had a shot at their enemy.

"Elest!" 

He pulled his gaze from his rifle's scope, cursing before chasing after her. The things she would do for that damn dog were comical, her hands free and allowing her carbine to swing freely around her neck as she darted into open fire. The man in the metal armor had noticed Rex coming his way, pausing his firing at the both of them. Once the hound had come close enough, he slammed the stock against the animal's snout. A pained whimper escaping her dog, the impact causing him to cower.

"Out of the way! Fucking bitch!" The Viper snapped. Elest felt anger rise in her throat and in a split-second she decided to return the favor, grabbing hold of All-American once more.

"Hey asshole!" 

The man looked up, which was an unfortunate move. The courier hit him with his own medicine, meaning she struck the back of her carbine as hard as her arms would allow her into his nose. He was at the most a foot taller than her, her gun smacking against the bottom of the tip. She didn't hear the cartilage rend but she knew that it had broken. Blood spattering to his lower lip and chin, he shouted in pain. His armor too much to hold up, causing him to fall on his backside. 

"Leave my dog alone, you greasy bastard!" She brought the stock back down on his face for an extra measure, right between his brows before he could try to get to his hands and knees. Boone wasn't sure if she had killed him without wasting any bullets, but he didn't get up again. 

Elest released her hold on All-American, the strap bouncing the gun from the height it was released. A sharp hiss of pain left her mouth, her fingers wrapping around the bandaged flesh of her forearm. Though she didn't halt her actions, kneeling down before Rex to check his brain casing and his physical well-being. 

"Are you okay, buddy?" 

The hound whimpered, brown eyes beholding her, almost like a child would to its mother. He licked gently at his own jaw before she made a move to scratch his neck. Kissing his snout and slowly rising to her feet, Boone stepped closer.

"Are you alright? You ran straight into open fire." He didn't show his temper for that specific action, not while his concerns were on whether or not she was wounded. 

She rubbed her fingers over the wearied bandage above her Pipboy, "I'm fine." She respired, swallowing thickly. "I might have ripped the bite open a little bit from that swing, but I'm fine."

"Don't do shit like that, you'll get us both killed." Boone strung his hunting rifle over his shoulder to join her duffel bag. With Elest glaring in his direction, it was unmistakable knowing that she was itching to spout off about how she had only done so for the sake of saving Rexy's life. He was surprised to see that she held her tongue, but they knew it would be best to move on with conversation. 

"Just watch out for landmines, if we're unlucky then one of these cars will explode."

"Yeah, thanks. That's a very comforting thought."

Rolling up the blue sleeves of her vault tee as they slowly had begun to ride down, Elest trudged forward. Her exasperation and his avoidance of acknowledging that she had saved him from a head-on collision with a lead pipe were enough to give her a juvenile recklessness. But not to the point where she would risk the three of them being blown to pieces by a landmine.

They managed to steer clear of any harmful explosions or any more Vipers willing to attack them through their venture up the road. Elest had stolen a glimpse at the screen of her Pipboy to find that the lot of them were closer to their destination than she had anticipated, keeping sight of an old and rusty windmill she expected to be part of the abandoned farmstead. Both Elest and Boone traveled up the steep hill of dry dirt and sand. She nearly slipped which would have caused a domino effect. Stumbling onto her working knee. Boone had been there to make sure she didn't bring him down with her. Reaching the higher ground they came across the sight of a wooden bridge missing several planks that had been replaced with household sheet metal. A burial grave next to the makeshift girders, with withered flowers growing by the wooden tombstone. The radio alongside it hummed "Goin' Under" through the speakers. The grave must have been recently planted, as the radio had not died down quite yet. 

"Think this was the owner of this place?" Elest inquired, glancing to her right to stare at Boone.

"Maybe, but who dug the grave?" 

She hummed, nodding thoughtfully. She didn't want to waste any more time, Rex had reached the summit along with them. Panting as he waited for one of them to make a move, Elest pressed her fingers onto the rope of the bridge as she cautiously began to cross. It was not a far fall, but with her knee still having issues, she wasn't sure what the outcome would be if she fell through. 

They were more high up than she had anticipated, Elest could see the shambled top of the destroyed church in Camp Searchlight that was far east and just underneath the rising sun. 

"This place doesn't look so bad, birds chirping -and a breeze! Maybe there's still some food growing."

"I thought you said that you've been here, wouldn't you already know these things?" Her buzzing disposition faltered, she hummed distractingly to the fading radio tunes. Glancing over the many steep hills for any signs of nearby wildlife. 

"It was for one night, and about a year ago. My memory is still surfacing." She stated, ambling to another small bridge, stairs would have been more effective but she couldn't find it in her to grouse. 

"Come on Rexy! Keep up, boy!" She cooed. Hopping down, the both of them arrived behind the abandoned rust colored shack. A large generator droning alongside a pile of gravel and rocks.

"Reckon that's powering anything still inside?" She inquired, making a move to round to the front of the small home, dust, and dirt riding down the hill. The nearby bushes rustling in the wind. 

"Don't know, you head inside. I'll find out if there's anything still growing."

That must have been the first time he had actually instructed that the both of them split up on open ground, not that she found any issues with it. "Are you going to search the grounds for any enemies too?" Elest asked. It was out of sheer curiosity, but she was positive Boone could tell she was poking fun at him. 

"If I find the time."

"I'm sure you will."

Whenever he stared at her just as he did at that moment, it always made her feel like he could read her thoughts. He grunted a pitiful reply, which she returned with a snort. He sauntered down to the scarce crops and purifying water well (which ironically smelled of toxic waste). Elest brushed her braided hair over her shoulder. Rex yawned, a short yap falling from his mouth to catch her attention. 

"Come on boy, let's go check out the inside of this shack."

*** * ***

The wind howled through the thin walls. It was a few degrees cooler inside, much to her relief. Strips of sheet metal missing from the roof allowed streams of sunlight to pour through the cracks, above all else It wasn't the worst place she had resided in. Cozy walls, rusted water pipes riding up the length of the exterior with a questionable quality. The refrigerator door was completely ripped off the hinges and nowhere to be seen, as well as the shelves inside. The oven was a good inch or three from the wall, and upon turning the burner dials she found that they didn't work at all. One of them fell off at her touch. 

"That's. . . Nice." She shrugged her shoulders, hands moving up to adjust the pot overturned on the broiler. She took hold of a sharp cleaver resting on the metal surface. Seemingly aged and the handle had been repaired with duct tape. Deemed impressed, she set it back down.  
Elest turned her attention to the singular mattress in the far right corner of the home, the bedpost on its last legs. The furniture was sideways and pulled from the wall to be closer to the oven.

"Rexy boy, come here." 

The hound had been sniffing the lockers to the left of the front door, his paws scratching at the rugged cloth laying over the floorboards. He perked up, obediently joining her side as she plopped down on the mattress. The metal bedpost squeaked and groaned under her sudden weight. It had sunken down more than she had expected it to, perhaps it had to do with Rexy's added mass. 

"Is it better than Freeside?" She pondered aloud, the dog whimpered. She wasn't all too sure what that meant but she could agree. 

In the passing minutes, Elest tried her best to tidy the place to her standards. Gathering the crumbled papers and documents with the writing too faded to make out that crowded the flooring. She crushed the notes into one dense ball, tossing it into a discarded metal bucket to the left of a dismantled metal shelf with its contents spilling to the floor. The more Elest peered around the more she found that the place wasn't as neat as she thought.

Plenty of firearms and sharp objects around the room though, that is what she could piece together about the former homeowner: Hostile and cautious. Not to mention they didn't bother to pack up their things. Not that it bothered her, it was plenty to loot and sell. Enough to get her closer to the number of caps she desired to save up for Rexy's noggin.

Speaking of his noggin.

"Come here boy, face me." Elest brushed her fingers over the back of his neck to gather his attention. Wide eyes staring up at her, she moved her hand back to press the light on her Pipboy in order to illuminate the space in front of them so she could make out his features. Short fur pressed down onto his skin from tears, Elest ran her finger over his snout and took note of the small bump on the flattened bridge from where the Viper's weapon had come in contacted with his face.

"Awe, Rexy." She rested her hand over his casing, placing a soft kiss onto the swelling. "He hit you pretty damn hard didn't he? Asshole, I should have hit him so hard that my shoulder dislocated."

Then again, Elest wished that she could have done that to plenty of people. Thankfully, she wasn't given too much time to think about specifics and nor did she want to. The metal shack door had creaked and groaned, indicating that Boone had arrived from his search for food and possible encounters. Looking up she saw the man set down her duffel bag at the foot of the door, grunting as he threw his rifle over his shoulder. 

"Anything?" She voiced.

Boone looked up, "there's a Legion Raid Camp Northeast, not too far. I saw about two men but I'm almost positive that there were more out of sight." He glanced around the home, his strong jaw fastened together as he leered at the broken lockers to his left. 

Fuck, she should have known better than to think that they could wander too far east and not run into those crimson bastards. More than likely on the move to attack caravans or transporting slaves to Cottonwood Cove just east of Camp Searchlight. Her stomach twisted into a tight knot and she pulled her hands away from Rex. Elest couldn't help but wonder if they would be safe here tonight.

"Any food?" She knew it was better than to mention the legion. 

"Nothing. Everything was either dried out or rotten."

"Shame." With a sigh, Elest turned her attention to the old bandage wrapped around her forearm, grimacing at the crusted and fresh blood soaked into the gauze. "Ah shit, can you get my doctor's bag?"

A change of topic, his downturn lips forced back to a thin line. "Yeah, no problem." He turned right back to the face of the door, picking up her duffel bag by the strap. Boone moved forward to set it by her feet. Rex released a soft whimper, laying his head down on the mattress to rest his eyes. As she began to remove the old gauze, it stuck to the discharge and thick blood along the punctures. The skin was an angry red, pulsating through the length of her arm. 

"Ah, shit." She whispered to herself, she should have known that they had not sterilized the bite well enough, but Elest just hoped that she would be alright. Suffered more severe and survived through much worse. 

"Fine and dandy, how sweet."

"Gotten worse?"

"Like a scab you keep on itching."

They paused, silence emitting. The shack walls creaked and whined, giving off an eerie vibe that made her wonder if there was someone leaning against the walls just outside. She disposed of the used bandage, hesitating before wrapping it up neatly and tossing it over in the Sunset Sarsaparilla crate with a grimy cooking pot inside it. Elest grimaced at her decision, but this place was no Ultra-Luxe.

"I hope that dog wasn't carrying any diseases."

"There's always a chance." He stated, lips pulled into a straight line. Boone made an advancement to open the oven door, peering inside at the charcoaled contents and what seemed to be the remains of a shattered pilot light and brahmin meat. 

"Is that suppose to make me feel better?"

"No."

Elest could almost taste the amusement in that reply. Scoffing, she kept her eyes trained on the infected bite. Rummaging around the contents of her doctor's bag in hopes that she hadn't lost her super stimpak that she'd made with a leather belt, some fruit, and a Nuka-Cola. It had taken a few tries but now had sentimental value, but better used than astray. 

Reaching back down to stretch over her legs, she ransacked her duffel bag at the toes of her boots. She tossed out her change of clothes and the empty Jet inhalers before finding the advanced stimpak crushed under a few stray cans of Pork N' Beans. Gleefully, she sprawled out the cans on the mattress between her and Rex. 

You could begin to believe that Elest despised being sober (she did), and the amount that she relied on chems and medical supplies to get her through bumps and scratches did not seem healthy. Boone had allowed himself to get distracted from his self proclaimed duty of protecting the young woman, usually from herself. Reaching for an aged cleaver on the surface of the oven. He picked at the peeling tape on the handle, turning to face his companion but found her currently trying to buckle the leather of her super stimpak around her wrist without any precautions. 

"Elest, stop that." He snapped in dispute.

Her eyebrows rose at his antagonistic statement, teeth clenched around the tough leather of the belt as she replied. "Nah, don't worry. I have it under contr-"

"You're going to get yourself killed using shit like that." He broke in, setting the aged cleaver down on the broken oven broilers prior to sulking towards her. It may have been the first time Boone had physically stopped her from continuing on with her task. Elest had craned her neck up high to face him only for the former 1st Recon to tug the rough fibers from her mouth, taking the stimpak with him. 

"It can't be safe to inject that into your veins, especially on your wrist."

"Then got any more ideas there, Boone? I'm all ears." 

Yeah, a professional doctor that had the proper training of sterilization and operations. But for all the man knew, the closest one was somewhere near the barricade of New Vegas. He unfixed his jaw, turning around to march towards the small dining table to the left of the front door. He set the super Stimpak on its paring surface, releasing an exasperating suspire. 

"Yeah. Let me do it. Especially when all you want to do is get high."

"That's. . ." Not a lie, but Elest couldn't respond when all it made her feel was exasperation with her disconnection from reality. That's what the Legion and years of slavery would do to someone like her. Unable to live with herself and in same skin that they had grasped, hit, and bruised. For the longest time, all she had wanted to do was cut it all off, skin her branding off like the scales of a fish and leave it all behind. It wasn't her fault that substances made her feel like she wasn't anything but a broken soul. And without her body smothering her, without the sensation of Lucius's hands still on her; she felt free. Of course, she would want that feeling back, who could blame her? 

"I actually have some experience, big guy."

"In finding a vein?"

Ouch, that shouldn't have hurt because it was a simple question. But she wasn't any Med-X or Steady junkie. Jet was completely different. 

"Fine." She replied, a fatuous tone that made her sound like a rancorous child. "Disinfect it. My life's in your hands now."

Exaggerated, but still effective. Boone released a deep exhale from his nose, moving forward until he was close enough to her to take hold of the doctor's bag at her side. Rummaging through it, he found a roll of bandage and a reused bottle of purified water that seemed to be filled with an aqua colored fluid. A scalpel that still had a small string of blood along the blade, a ratted piece of cloth that appeared to be torn from an old pullover, and a few elixirs of antivenom. Elest watched him stare down at the contents. 

"Boone."

"Give me a minute." 

Elest rolled her eyes, bleating miserably. The noise made Rex peek one of his eyes open to stare up at his master. The NCR soldier at pulled out a few of the contents before at last looking up.  
"Move over." He instructed. She did so grudgingly, the bed frame croaked at her movement as she shifted towards the top of the bed, leaving Rex at the foot of it. Boone grunted, taking his place beside her. Her lips pursed, passively embittered. He craned his left leg a bit higher to lay her forearm over his knee and he began to twist open the cap of the aqua colored cleaner. The courier broke the silence.

"The ones who serve for the NCR go by their last names, right?" Elest inquired, as if she had no knowledge of such. Boone set the colorless bottle cap on the surface of the mattress, grunting in response and nodding his head. He took hold of the piece of cloth from the doctor's bag, pausing to take off his shades and set them alongside the cap of the cleaner. 

"So, is Boone your first or last name?" 

When he looked over at her, she wondered if he looked at her like that even with his sunglasses on. "Last." He stated simply. He pressed the cloth to the mouth of the bottle and overturned it, the bactericide soaking into the material. Staring at it timorously, she nodded.

"Then what's your first name?" Elest continued, he pressed the cloth over the punctures in her skin. He felt her jerk, her hand tightening up into a small fist. Her breathing rose prior to releasing a drawn-out curse. Shaking her head at the sharp pain, it was like taking a few dozen baby Cazadors stingers to the flesh of her limb.  

"Craig." He dragged the cloth down, making sure to clean the wound thoroughly as Elest surely would have not if she was left to her own devices. For someone who talked big about possessing medical experience, she was not a maven when it came to infections. 

"It's like we're being acquainted once again then, isn't it? Nice to meet you, Craig Boone." 

At her words, his expression grew coy. A quiet "humph"  surpassing his lips, he prodded the cloth into the small separation in the flesh. She had grown accustomed to the discomfort, her eyes only battening together whenever a slight pang echoed through her nerves. 

"Then, is Elest your real name?" He queried, a question that she did not want to necessarily answer while being jabbed in the forearm with a disinfecting rag. A somber sigh, her chest deflating with the exhale. It was a good way to take note off of Boone's brash movements with the cloth. 

"Yes." She simpered charmingly, staring down at the irritated dog bite as Boone, at last, pulled back the cloth, grabbing the cleansing bottle cap to clasp it back on the lid before she carried on. "At least for now."

"So is it your real name or not?" Of course, in the Wasteland, you were bound to run into someone who bore false pretenses. Fake name, fake intentions, the list could go on. But Elest had appeared to be almost too innocuous for such a thing. A beautiful girl with too much luck on her side that managed to keep her secure. Maybe he had been wrong. A false name always held filth underneath, perhaps being much more trouble than he had first thought. But he couldn't believe such.

"No, it's not." But it was still her, at least it had been since the moment she dragged herself out of the Colorado River when she was barely a woman. Was that four years ago now? How could such a memory feel so eerily fresh yet hazy? It had been one of the proudest moments of her life. At last, after six years of enslavement, she had managed to escape just like her mother had always wanted the both of them to do. And that fucking city boy had taken that memory away from her with a single squeeze of a trigger, or maybe it had been the second bullet that really fucked up her head.

Nevertheless, even if he had taken away the clarity of her most valiant memories with nothing but a couple gunshots; he had also aided in taking away some of the most diabolical notions that had corrupted her mind for years. 

"I hope that doesn't bother you." She added.

"It's fine." Boone didn't think too much of it, deciding it was better to leave the conversation for another day, perhaps never. He stared down at the inflamed wound, taking hold of the small roll of bandages beside him. 

"You should take off your PipBoy. Your arm could be wrapped better."

Elest shook her head. "I can do it myself, big guy. Don't worry about me." Without another word spoken she grabbed the role of disposable cloth from his hand with a timid grin. She had almost forgotten that he had taken off his glasses, perhaps he had too. Staring quietly at her as she hopped up from her placement on the mattress. Rex jerked up at the swift movement, but once realizing the lot of them were not in danger, he lowered his head to the mattress. 

"God, I'm starving. When was the last time Rex ate?"

"Some time last night. I bought him something when I was in the Mojave Outpost barracks and you were on the roof."

"Right, I forgot." Elest cleared her throat, setting the wrap of gauze on the broken broiler of the oven. Swallowing thickly prior to sinking down to her knees in front of her duffel bag. 

"I have containers of food in here somewhere. You hungry buddy? Especially after all of that fightin'?" She cooed sweetly, Rex rolled over. His metal machinery squeaked at the same pitch as the wearied bedpost. 

Good thing she had thought it would be best to cook a few things in advance the last time they had been able to assemble a campfire. It wasn't any of his favorite dishes but it would certainly have to do, the dog always enjoyed attacking Bloatflies but eating it without the content of executing it himself seemed to take all the joy and excitement from eating. Elest whistled sharply, patting the floor beside her as she crooned the animal's name. Rex stared at Boone, his ears pulled back and his jaw clasped together in disgust. But he had done as he was told. Joining his master on the tattered floorboards, grudgingly sniffing at the meat. The both of them could smell it from there. Elest grimaced, feeling remorseful for giving him the meat when it was slaughtered the day before and had been sitting in the heat of her bag ever since. 

"Can you find something for us to eat? I have to bandage my arm."

Boone looked down at her, craned forward and his elbows resting on his knees. He nodded sternly, "yeah. No problem." He watched her smile benevolently, he wasn't sure what she could be concealing behind it. Elest placed her hands on the timber flooring, pulling herself to her feet. He grasped her bag by the strap and heaved it from its position on the wood, rising to his feet and brushing past the woman while he made his way over to the dining table.

It was shoved up against the wall just to their left, only one chair left standing with a rattled and otherwise useless-looking electric fan sitting on the surface. He set down the sack next to it. Elest could hear him unzip it prior to pursuing its contents. The smile slowly denigrated from its place on her lips and was dominated by her usual passive frown. She shifted on the floorboards. The abandoned shack filling with the sounds of Boone shuffling through her junk and Rex grousing as he chowed down the Bloatfly meat. Elest pressed her back against the seemingly sharp side of the bed, shifting her gaze cautiously up to Boone to see that his back was to her, paying her no amount of attention. 

She stared down at her PipBoy: from the glowing screen to the buttons and dials, her eyes met with the moss colored clasp that held it tightly against her wrist. She never took the device off, only if it was absolutely necessary, such as hygiene. Seemed that today was just one of the days where she needed to take it off for her own health. Such a shame, Elest inhaled deeply. Another sharp glance shot towards the soldier several feet in front of her before she hesitantly lifted her hand to the clasp, pulling the clamps away from one another. The skin breathed once more, and this time she hadn't looked away.

Elest had grown accustomed to it while under Lucius mastery, but after breaking free from him, the sight of the brand had become a constant reminder of what had been done to her. A reminder of how much she had desired to get out of this skin and how her little sister could still be out there somewhere with the same mark. The only difference being that Elest had been fortunate to break free. Gazing down at it, she could still remember the intense feeling of the burn etching into flesh. Enabling her to once again feel every lick of that leather belt being trailed down her skin whenever she had done wrong, or Lucius and Vulpes' hands holding her down for their own pleasure. Somehow the sight of the welted skin had always brought back the same sensations, a chill ran down her arms, the hairs standing up straight.

The redness had lessened from what Elest could recall from the last time she had looked at the mark of the Legion flag on her wrist. That or her eyes had started to play games with her. The skin still bulged as if there was a thin coat of blood still boiling underneath the welt. The burn still appeared to be knitting together, even after all of these years. She would have cut the mark off if it hadn't been so close to her veins, she always had a faint-hearted feeling whenever it came to sharpened objects. Elest could only guess it was rooted from the Legion continuously lurking around with jagged machetes sheathed at their hip, or Vulpes' morbid fascination with sexual gore; most definitely the latter. 

The more Elest gawked at it the more nauseous she felt. A churning sensation surfacing in her gut. Any sense of hunger manifesting in her stomach was demolished. Elest set her Pipboy at her hip. The device making a quiet 'thump' with the contact. She tried to wrap the bandaging around her appendage as quick as possible, her heart tight in her chest as she peered up every few moments to confirm that Boone had not moved from his current placement at the senescent dining table. Once the bandage had concealed the brand, her chest uncoiled. 

"You said you were in the 1st NCR Recon. Right?" She asked suddenly.

Boone shuffled, setting down one of her bottles of water. "Yeah, I did. Why?"

"Why did you leave?" Elest had never given it much thought, though he had always seemed to chat about his experience in the New California Republic with a past tense. It hadn't come up in conversation on how he had taken his leave. "I mean, I'm just guessing that it would take a lot to scare someone like you off from the NCR."

He scoffed. "Scare off?"

"You know what I mean." Elest stated hastily. She fastened the medical binds over her wounds and tying the loose ends together. "So what was it? You can tell me." Her crooned words weren't as much as an assurance than it was affronting. He pulled out the allegedly packaged Banana yucca fruit and buffalo gourd seeds from what must have been the third lunchbox he had found in her duffel bag.

"That part of my life is over now. So is this discussion."

Her lips parted, a sardonic and quite childish remark forming on the tip of her tongue. She thought better of it. Still, that was no way to treat a lady. Then again she had foraged through bent and beaten trash cans for rations and once drank radiated beer in full hopes that it would tear up her insides and rid her from this world. And when looking at the man, she had full hope in that he was her radiated beer in this clusterfuck known as the Wasteland. And she sure as hell was a sucker for throwing herself in the line of fire.

"Is it because you don't know my real name?"

Boone was quiet and she wasn't sure whether or not it had to do with her question or if their discussion had ground a nerve. In silence, he distributed the contents of what resided in her caravan lunchbox. 

"Do you know how many gourd seeds you want?" He asked.

"Definitely two. It's like a road dessert apple." Elest reached over to grab her Pipboy, the screen had done dark from the absence of her warmth. She clasped its hands over the length of her wrist, clicking the blinking power button below the screen. 

"So you're not going to answer my question, Craig?"

If felt good to use his own name for her advantage. But in this time it felt puerile. He turned around to face her, the small metal box in his grasp. His brows were knitted together, nevertheless, she wasn't sure if that was just his typical expression. Looking down at her from her position on the floor, Rex had at last managed to scoff down the last remains of his unsettling meal and decided it would be best to sleep it off on top of the mattress. The former soldier kneeled down to hand her the container, nothing more than a curt reply of: 

"I'm not in the mood to swap war stories. We've been traveling together for a week, maybe another time."

"We've saved each other's cake on the road more than a few times this past week. Fighting alongside someone is a good reason as any to trust them." Regardless, she took the lunchbox from his hands. Peering inside she saw the two buffalo gourd seeds she had asked for as well as a small slice of sweet Yucca plant, and, to top it all off, there were room temperature iguana bites. She picked one out of the box and stretched her arm over the side of the bed to place the meat in front of Rexy's snout. 

"In the long run, whose enemies? Yours or mine?"

Technically, in a world where she didn't feel the need to ardently bury who she was and had been, she would have simply responded with a serene "both". But she knew that when she'd said that if he wanted to piss of the Legion, then she could help; it had been a bluff. The last thing she had wanted to do in these dark times was get on Caesar's kill list. 

"You want me to make good on my promise of helping you fight the Legion, right?" Elest couldn't help but notice the small but blatant curve to Boone's lip at her reply. 

"I don't know." He muttered, his tone apathetic. "It couldn't hurt."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A long ass chapter for literally nothing happening. Don't worry, the next chapter will be dramatic -stay tuned!  
> Go check out Anotherlie you lil shits.


	7. Oh That's Just Fine And Dandy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I've been gone a while haven't I?
> 
> I'M SORRY OKAY, if anyone is interested I've been writing Elest's backstory and that's one of the reasons this took so fucking long. It's here now though!
> 
> My mental health has not been good, but I hope it did not fuck with this chapter too much! My lovely mother actually aided me in editing this, she's a saint for putting up with my shit. Love her. ANYWAY ENJOY THIS!

Eating in silence was something Elest was used to, especially now that she was traveling around with Craig Boone. Over the course of the week, she had grown to enjoy his company, she was no longer terrified of his intentions or what he may do once she fell asleep, but she wasn't sure if she could say the same for him.

Elest smacked the hard and dry exterior of her buffalo gourd seed on the floorboard of the Wolfhorn shack, the shell splitting open at impact for her to dig her thumbs into the fruit and pry it open. She picked greedily at the pulp, staring up at Boone who had dragged the chair from the dining table and to the door of the oven. He grabbed pieces of the Yucca plant from the container in his lap and put it in his mouth.

"You look tired. When did you last sleep?" She asked.

He chewed, his sage colored eyes did not move from their placement in his lap. While the silence infused, they could hear the breeze picking up pace outside of the shack, the thin walls were creaking under the pressure. Wind chimes hanging from the gutters outside were clanking together like high pitched church bells.

"Not sure. It's been a while." He replied, trailing off into a large bite of iguana and taking half of the contents with it. Elest furrowed her brows, still picking at the fruit of her gourd seed with no true intention of eating more than she had to. She dug her thumb into the contents, the juice beginning to run down into her palm, she pulled back her hand before the trail got too far and stuck the digits in her mouth.

"So I'll be taking watch for a few hours, right?" Elest sucked her thumb dry and set the gourd seed in her lap to wipe the excess fluids on her vault top. "Do I have to sit in that chair and face the door like you do for hours on end? That's a funeral on its own."

 

"Only if you want to." He replied.

 

"Good, because I don't."

 

Elest stuck the half of the gourd into her mouth as one would with an apple, giving the soldier a derisive thumbs up. He ignored her reply and instead, he picked off the remaining iguana meat and popped into his mouth. He set the oiled stick on the rim of the oven, wiping the palm of his hands on his brahmin-skin trousers. Boone looked up at the spacious roof, peering through the punctures and rips in the sheet metal to see the darkening sky above.

They had spent the remaining hours of the day inside this shack, much to Boone's exasperation. At this rate, they wouldn't reach the fields around New Vegas for another week. If she wanted to gather caps for Rex's surgery than that was fine with him, at least the girl was set out on a mission other than mindlessly roaming the waste, dead or alive,

But the hound did not have much more time, and with the growing look in Elest's eyes whenever she caught sight of the dog showed that she knew it too.

"He used to run around a lot," Elest muttered after pulling the gourd seed from her mouth. Noticing that Boone had his eyes trained on the dog, with his snout at her ear and his eyes closed. "He would get so excited whenever we would stop somewhere new, I would have to let him roam around and sniff at the plants and objects. Sometimes he'd even find us something to eat," and with that, she craned her arm over her head from her lap and to rest over Rex's brain case.

"And to think I could lose him just because of. . ." Elest paused, fingers straining around the small gourd in her right hand before setting it back in the lunchbox. "Because I spent all my money on shitty narcotics."

"How much did you have before?" He asked.

A scoff left her lips. "Nothing, just the clothes on my back." She resisted the urge to scratch maniacally at the bandage on her forearm. "I worked for a little bit over in Freeside to pay for my fix, because it was either that or having sex with the dealer."

Boone watched her hand fall from its placement on Rexy's head to rest on the wooden floorboards, she folded her active leg up to her chest. Elest shook her head in disgust, "I must have had a little over six hundred caps before I blew it all in two nights."

God, why was it that her mind allowed her to recall those forty-eight hours like it had been the day before? But being able to remember the days with her parents and her mother's team, trying to teach her how to defend herself out in the Mojave was nothing more than an industrious cloud itching at the back of her mind? Elest could hardly remember the solicitous look in her little sister's eyes as she watched from afar. Couldn't that bullet have done her life some good and wipe Lucius and Vulpes from her memories as well as Caesar's Legion all together? Why did it have to touch the only fond memories she had of her family?

Dixon probably rented himself an Atomic Wrangler whore with the money she had practically thrown at him for all the narcotics in his possession. She just hadn't been able to take it anymore, and sometimes Elest wished that the ten inhalers worth of Jet and about three injections of Med-X would have done their job in taking her life instead of just leaving her trembling in a destroyed building structure for some local thug to find.

"How long ago was this?" His tone had her wondering whether or not he was blatantly revulsed by her telling's and was hoping this wasn't a tale from a few months ago. Elest clenched her jaw, trying to keep her expression from falling sour.

"Don't know." She muttered out, despondent. Her words were quiet and her eyes casted down at the beds of her fingers while she pushed down her cuticles. "About three years ago." It was odd thinking about that. So much had changed since then, and yet she felt as if she had come around in a complete circle. The dread of Lucius and Vulpes meeting her eyes once more in the near future made her wonder: if everything she had would go up in flames.

Elest waited for him to reply, his usual "that shit is going to kill you one day." Type of response she had come to anticipate whenever her relations with Jet came up in conversation, but he had held his tongue.

"Do you think we can do it?" She asked. A few seconds of silence had gotten the best of them. The howling wind outside had begun to subside, but it was still noticeable. Even with the ongoing hum of the generator on the other side of the wall.

"Do what?"

"Get enough money for the brain transplant." Her words uncertain, like a child asking why the sky is blue. He didn't know, he was no clairvoyant, and nor did he really hope for the future. Well, as much as he had when Carla was still at his side. The days just passed, time was ongoing and his clock was ticking.

He knew Elest was different, and for a woman so careless with her fragile existence, she feared death and what lurked in the shadows as much as a young child did after hearing stories of Nightstalkers. The last thing she needed to hoist up on top of all her paranoia, is the dread that Rex could pass away any day now.

He didn't want to worry her. "I think we can do it, yeah."

Elest paused, trailing off into a forlorn sigh. "That's good."

Without another word, she tossed the half eaten gourd seed into the air, catching it with both of her hands. A grin slowly spread across her lips, as if her companion's aspiration had aided her mood in lifting.

It was a good change, especially since falling asleep with a miserable atmosphere was beginning to grow dull. Boone pulled himself from the chair, adjusting his hunting rifle that was thrown over his shoulder. "You're taking watch?"

"That's what we agreed to, big guy."  

That nickname was beginning to settle with him, largely due to the fact that it didn't bother him in the slightest, maybe it was because it was her who was saying it, but even then, he hadn't known her for too long.

Boone observed, just for a moment, with her head craned down and her eyes adverted to the seed in her grip. He didn't know how he felt about her just yet, he didn't trust her, but she didn't oppose as a threat either.

The recon cleared his throat as he trotted closer to the mattress, disregarding Elest who was lounging against the side of the bedpost. She picked anxiously at the center of the gourd seed, like a distracted child sitting at the dinner table. "Wake me when the sun rises."

"No issue," she beamed. Boone nodded, this girl couldn’t fight tooth or nail, yet here he was allowing himself to sleep with her watching his hide. Perhaps he didn't care to die, really, but having her first risk her life before the enemy reached him, just made Boone feel sick. He couldn't help but to imagine it the same way he had with Carla, how if anything had happened to her while he was unable to get to her, he wouldn't know what to do with himself.

Now? He didn't know what to do, besides killing Legionnaires, and maybe that's why he was here, Filling the same void of needing to protect someone with this hapless courier more marked than a practice dummy.

He shifted onto the mattress, brushing past Rex who's sleep was disturbed due to Boone's movement. Settling on the bed with his back pressed against the shoddy shack walls. The barrel of his rifle dug into his sacrum, until the moment he pulled the strap over his head and set the weapon on his lap.

Elest closed the lid to her lunchbox, setting it on the floor beside her. "Want me to turn on some tunes? Always had helped me sleep ever since I was little."

"Go ahead." Maybe the hum of the radio could drown out some of his thoughts and at the same time adding to the fraught silence going on around them. She nodded, Boone allowed his head to roll back and lean against the exterior of the shack wall, his eyes closing gently. He hadn't realized how heavy his eyelids had gotten over the hours, and with the dimming lighting, it only became more difficult.

Elest clicked through the menus on the device clasped around her arm. The sound buzzing through the shack as she pressed on the Mojave radio. "I'm So Blue" by Katie Thompson came to life from the small speakers on the courier's Pipboy as she dialed down the volume.

Silence sprouted between the companions and they listened to the solemn lyrics, Elest wasn't sure when Boone had drifted off to sleep, or if he ever had. She stretched her legs out on the floor as she shifted her backside on the floorboards to get more comfortable, hand positioned on the trigger guard of All-American. Dozing in and out as she longed to clearly remember the faces of those once dear to her.

 

* * *

 

Pained grunts and constant battling rang out from around the camp far into the night. Young and aged Legion men fought and trained out in the open air of the Fortification Hill. Like most nights in the Mojave, the sky seemed clear of clouds and the air smelled of smoke, iron, and sex.

While he nodded sternly to the man posted just outside the elegant material of the flap of the tent, he did not feel nonchalant. Aggravatingly nervous for being called out from his personal chambers with the moon still hanging high in the sky. Lucius reached up to flatten the short hairs of his beard, continuing onward into Caesar's tent.

The son of Mars was absent from his throne, as he would be so late into the night. Nevertheless, Vulpes seemed to drag behind with his schedule. Currently sulking around the still glowing metal firepit, the leader of the Frumentarii had his arms crossed over his chest. Legion Prime Armor illuminated in the firelight.

"Caesar resides close to his bed," Vulpes informed, a tinge of amusement hidden in those words. Something he seemed to possess for many years now, that coy grin Lucius longed to smack from his lips since he arrived back after the 1st battle of Hoover Dam. "He awaits your arrival."

"I heard." He stated, clearly disinterested in the man before him. Perhaps things could have gone much different in their relationship if Vulpes Inculta hadn't been an imperious _cunne_ whenever his disposition allowed. Though, that didn't mean the man wasn't creating an astonishing impact in the Legion, especially with what had been done to Camp Searchlight and Nipton under his command. "Anything else?"

"Hm. . ." Vulpes unfolded his arms, tapping his slender finger against his chin thoughtfully, purposely dragging out Lucius's valuable time, he shifted on the soles of his feet. "Your meretrix of a marita's trail seems to have gone cold. For now, that is."

"It's Rutilia, or Red, to you." He corrected with a peeved undertone to his words. Lucius could relish in the belittlement and denigration of his runaway wife, but a conversation with Vulpes speaking ill about her made it become flagrant and he became sick to his stomach.

Without much more spoken to the Frumentarii, he brushed past him. Uttering out grumbled words of: _"tace atque abi._ " While moving forward, he could feel Vulpes's eyes trained on the back of his head, possibly grinning from ear-to-ear. Especially with the absence of "vale" exchanged between the both of them.

Lucius rounded the ruler's throne, he moved out of the open air and into their leader's enclosed quarters. There was the absence of any young girls or boys in his bed, meaning this could be much more important than he was first expecting. Caesar's personal Auto-Doc still remained useless at the foot of the bed, and the man himself sat peacefully at his commanding table centered in the room.

Immediately, Lucius kneeled. His head bowed with his eyes trained on the floor. "Ave, my lord, it is-"

"It's too late for that shit. Just sit down"

A bit appalled, but the man did not allow it to show. Lucius pulled himself back to his feet, his lips were pulled into an expressionless frown. The invitation did not sound threatening, but with the rising moon and lack of legionnaires in the tent, it did not make him feel so secure.

He pulled out the chair across from the ruler. Once he had settled, Caesar folded his hands on the wood. A grin had begun to eat away at the older man's mouth. "Sir," Lucius began. "It is very late, may I ask what this is about?"

"Vulpes spotted your runaway wife a few weeks ago, from what I have heard."

Lucius didn't know what he was getting at. "Yes. It's the first time she has been spotted since her collar was found." And that was nearly four years ago. He didn't think his profligate wife had been foolish enough to stay in the Mojave, and he couldn't believe the Legion could not find her if she hadn't strayed too far from the pen.

"Are you going to fuck her, or kill her?"

"My lord?"

"When she is caught. As it is your decision to make."

Lucius smacked his lips together. This wasn't a conversation he thought he would have to go through, but he had to remind himself how Caesar would say what was on his mind whether or not it would disturb those around him.

Killing Rutilia seemed like an action only in thought, and something he could never actually go through with. She was just a woman, and a pig-headed woman at best. Of course, he had thought about it, sprawling her out on a cross facing the sunset or maybe even torching her alive, but it was only out of rage, angry that she had the impudence to leave. After all he had put on the line to keep her at his side, and all the progress they made when he arrived back from the Grand Canyon after 2277; that little whore threw it all away for a life she could hardly even recall.

Lucius had kept his silence long enough for Caesar to notice. The leader couldn't hold back a fatuous chuckle. "I don't really give a fuck, you can do both if you want for all I care."

"I haven't given it much thought, my lord," Lucius stated honestly, his hands folding together against his lap. They were beginning to grow clammy. "I have my full attention on the securing of the Dam for the Legion, my wife, is not my immediate concern ."

Caesar snorted, his hand moving to cover his yellowing smile at his praetorian's leader. "Lucius, just say that bitch is getting on your fucking nerves, it's obvious."

How could it be obvious if he never even got to speak of her? Was the discussion of her really draining his face off of all emotional content? He straightened his posture, keeping his body from growing lazy against the back of the chair. His throat felt full, no matter how many times he swallowed. "I just want her alive, for now, I will deal with it in due time."

"And right you will, there will be no pussying out of it this time. If she causes you any more nuisance then she will be killed, by you if necessary. Then you’ll finally get a wife fit to bare you many children, unlike her Lieutenant fucking degenerate of a mater."

Lucius could almost hear the echo of Rutilia's voice defending her dead mother's honor. "I understand my lord, is that all?" He couldn't stand it anymore, the idea that Vulpes Inculta could be outside the Son of Mars’ chambers right now listening to every word made him feel infuriated. Caesar rested his jaw on his palm, appearing to be brimmed with boredom.

"Not pleased to be called out of your tent just to talk about some profligate whore?" That was a vulgar way to word it, but Lucius could resentfully admit to himself that Caesar was right, he did not nod, instead just waited for the man to continue.

"I'm merely worried about you, Lucius." The older man carried on, "You can always take another woman in the meantime. Your children do not have to come out of a fugitivus."

"I apologize for making you worry for me, my lord," He spoke. The general's hand moved up to smooth his beard. "I continue to pursue Rutilia and taking no other lovers as a result of my own personal feelings."

Lucius's expression of regret was not tolerated the way he had anticipated it to, Caesar allowed a deep frown to overtake his lips. "Are you confessing to loving this deceiving little bitch?"

"No sir, I'm referring to the betrayal she committed to me. As my marita, she should fulfill her duties and bare my children. I hope you understand where I'm coming from." He felt as if, with those words, he was treading on a thin sheet of scrap metal just above a large ravine. He never thought about loving Red, as it had always appeared to be some sort of ongoing battle for submission and acceptance from her. He pondered if maybe before she had run off, there had been something more to it all, even if only for a moment.  

Caesar nodded, much to Lucius's relief. "I do. But It's been years since you have had any children, and I'm not letting some fatuous lupâtria stop you. Fuck a kid into some girl's womb. Your wife's time will come."

The sound of it was very disloyal. Rutilia would have been thrown upon a cross for being unfaithful to him, and yet he could do such a thing to her with no penalty. None of this settled well in his gut. "Yes. . . Yes, I will, sir."

"Good." Hopefully, the mighty Caesar could not make out the hesitation hidden in his words. "Now that is all. _Perite."_

He didn't know why that was unable to wait until come morning. Lucius rose from the surface of his chair and backing away from the general table. He bowed respectively. "Vale." He spoke calmly.

 

* * *

 

The night had been stricken with eerie noises and incoercible sounds over the tunes of her low strumming Pipboy radio. Elest huddled her knees closer to her chest on the surface of the mattress, as her ass had grown numb. She held All-American so tightly within her hands that the tips of her fingers began to grow white from the constant pressure.

She shifted her brown eyes over to glimpse at Boone who had dozed off a few hours before. His head beginning to slide down the surface of the wall and closer to her shoulder, he was silent, nothing but the sound of his quiet breathing coming from him. But Rex was always there to release an unsettled whimper in his slumber, it reminded her that she was not alone in this shack, even if she felt like she was.

Anyone could come through that door, Ghouls, Raiders, Legion, anything. Elest's clammy hands adjusted their grip on the handle of her carbine. Eyes focused on the doorknob with unshakable fear that someone or something would turn that knob and come in from the wasteland, with the whistling wind and unrecognizable sounds, her heart was hammering.

Elest hated this feeling, even with two individuals who could protect her far more efficiently than she's ever been able to protect herself, she still felt just as venerable as she did before slipping off into her Jet high in Freeside.

_God, I don't think Boone would forgive me if I got both of us enslaved or killed over not being able to stay sober tonight._

She didn't think that once she had escaped her slavery that it would still haunt her four years later, that or she never really took it into consideration. All of it still plagued her mind like a bad headache she couldn't shake off. The villains from her life hadn't come face-to-face with her in anything but her dreams for too long. Sure enough, the date of her return to Lucius was overdue,  luck wasn't her greatest pawn in this twisted game.

Elest shook her head, eyes leering at the wearied shack door. With the shape the walls were in she would more than likely hear some sorry ass come marching up before the door broke down with guns blazing. She left her carbine strung around her neck as she shuffled on the surface of the mattress to reach down and retrieve her duffel bag from the foot of the bedpost. She hauled it onto her lap. This wasn't how Boone kept guard, perusing his junk or trembling in his boots, but nothing had happened yet. Surely that was a sign of prosperity. . . Surely.

In the outer compartment of her traveling pack, she reached in for the broken frame holding the Vance family photograph. The rough edges and shards of glass bit at her fingertips in warning that if she held it too tight then the broken glass would puncture her skin. She curled her hands around the sides while her eyes focused on the members of her family.

It was comforting to stare at those smiles that Elest promised she wouldn't let herself forget. Out of all the things she could lose in her life they could not be part of it, she could lose them physically but would rather be Caesar's stepping stool then lose them mentally.

Still, she couldn't stop the memory of her parents from going cold if it was what fate desired. Soon all she would have as recollection was memories of agony and this photograph. Maybe she needed a brain surgery along with Rexy. If only Doctor Henry and Calamity would do a two for one sale with their specialties.

Elest traced her index finger over the captured image of her family. Staring at their faces and remembering the memories she once shared with them. She could remember their last supper together almost vividly. When her mother had tried cooking a Bloatfly pie for her father's remaining day before being sent back to Hoover Dam, she remembered sensing something had been wrong, and maybe she had been correct.

Rex whined sheepishly, turning his head and plopping his jaw down on Boone's knee. Not only did she remember that dinner, but she remembered the day this photo had been taken. A year before the Legion had attacked Camp Searchlight, her mother's teammate: Grim had taken the photo, which explained the questionable photography. She didn't think about them much, Elest wondered what had happened to Team Omega after the church exploded and her mother went missing. Maybe they ended up like Boone. Quiet, and resentful, with their hatred for the Legion sprouting out of control.

Sometime in the night, with her finger counting over Celestine's face, to her mother's, and to her father's, she had fallen asleep unintentionally. The picture frame slipping between her legs with her bag slumping over to the side of her thigh. With the gun strap tugging on her neck, she hadn't been able to fathom the straining of her muscles until it became too late.

In her dreams, it was nothing different. The sight of her mother laying on that bloodied metal table with her eyes lidded with death and perhaps relief. Elest heard herself utter the same pleads, words that could not save the woman from the evitable. Her mother's solemn and kind voice hoarse as she whispered. _"Row, don't worry. My time has come. I'll watch over you o-okay? I have served my-"_

The gentle shove of her shoulder pulled her body up and awake from her regular nightmare. Elest's eyes felt crusted together and her mouth was parched, like the Mojave desert had been sucked entirely inside her mouth. She groaned, hearing her mother's favorite song "I'm So Blue" humming from the speaker on her Pipboy.

"Sh-" She peered around at the shack, the morning sunlight peeking through the gaping gashes in the metal exterior. Boone's back was to her from where he sat at the edge of the mattress, polishing the barrel of his hunting rifle with the bottom of his shirt. "Shit, Boone I fell asleep. I'm so sorr-"

"It's fine." He replied immediately, his tone was not disruptive, not even a bit hoarse from sleep. Elest wondered how long he had already been kicking. "We heading out?"

"Y-yeah, we're. . ." She tried off, glancing down at the shattered picture frame between her thighs along with the duffel bag on her lap. Still disoriented from her sudden awakening, she grasped the portrait to dust the back of the casing off and slip it back into the outer compartment of her duffel bag. "We're peachy, just let me get ready."

Elest shoved her knapsack to the side before warily pulling herself from her position, her joints cracking like a middle aged woman's. She stretched her body to release the tension in her muscles, her shoulder brushed against Boone's when she swung her legs over the side of the bed, he glanced up from his weapon to perceive the soft frown overtaking her lips.

"Where's Rex?" Elest inquired slowly, eyes trailing over the contents of the shack.

"I let him out. He was scratching at the door. That alright with you?"

The courier fixed the fitting of her Pipboy around her wrist. It had twisted down to where the beige colored bandaging could be seen much more clearly, "yeah, it's fine." She stated, jerking the device down her wrist before lowering the volume of the Mojave Music Radio. She adored the music and always had. But with her mother's favorite song spouting from the speaker so early in the morning after her reoccurring nightmare, she felt out of place.

Her fingers picked at the grimy sleeved fallout suit she wore. Elest didn't even know how many days she had been wearing the blasted thing, she wandered through Vault 34 with enough rad-x to overdose and nearly got herself killed more than a dozen times, she deemed it a good reward and seemed to wear it until the stitching wore thin. Elest shuddered at the thought of how much morbid bacteria was soaked into the material, more than likely enough to give her a disease.

Well, shit. She unzipped her duffel bag prior to fumbling around its contents for something of good use to wear. After years of coercion to wear a Palla, anything that wasn't loose enough to be pulled completely off with a haste tug was more than enough for her. Even skin tight vault shirts were on her A-list.

She found a moderately fresh smelling flannel with a wearied pair of shorts, it would do her a lot more good in the hot sun than this fucking attire, that's for damn sure. Elest pulled them out and fumbled with the zipper clasped up to her neck. "Boone, mind closing your eyes for a moment? I have to change."

"Yeah, make sure you burn the clothes afterward."

Elest glared at him, "says you. You've had the same shirt on since we left Novac, so who's the real villain here?"  

Releasing a quiet "hm" as his response. It caused the courier to roll her eyes, with a swift glimpse in his direction to make sure his eyes were shut, she pulled down the fly of the vault uniform and peeled it from her skin like a band-aid. Elest cursed quietly to herself once the cuff got trapped against her Pipboy, resulting in her unclasping the device from her wrist and tossing it on the mattress.

Her flannel was conspicuous, but less provocative and more like a dazzling red that stuck out like a sore thumb for anyone coming in their general direction to see. Elest straightened the ruffles out on her stomach before at last heaving the washed out shorts up her thighs, tucking her shirt inside. "Alright, you're good." Buttoning the bronze stud keeping the material pressed to her waist, and clasping her Pipboy back on, she grinned. "Got everything?"

“Yeah. Don’t worry.” That being said, he didn’t have much more to carry other than his hunting rifle and the clothes on his back, much of the resources the both of them had seemed to be packed away in Elest’s duffel bag. Boone pressed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose, he took hold of her traveling pack and hauled it up on his shoulder without any words exchanged. She noticed the generous act, her wounds oughta heal immediately so the man didn’t feel compelled to carry her shit around like a pack brahmin.   

When they had stepped outside, it was much less warm than it had been the day before, where she had been practically sweating the skin off her bones. Perhaps it had to do with her change of clothes.

Rex was spotted easily, his nose pressed against the stock of the abandoned maize crops. The sight of him up and moving made Elest's heart twinge with relief, he had changed a lot in the past few days, his energy depleting and then recovering much slower over time. She clasped her hands together, "hey buddy!" She cooed, marching down the makeshift bridge before wandering up to him. "Getting a head start before the rest of us, huh? What are you smelling over there bud?"

Rexy whimpered, reluctant to move back, but once she leaned down to gently shove his snout from the dirt he complied. Boone surveyed over the terrain once reaching the woman's side. "We should check if that Legion raid camp is still there." He muttered, adjusting his grip on his rifle. "Wouldn't be good to let them live."

"Right," she frowned. Her eyes staring deeply at the dried out dirt that Rex had been sniffing, her sight catching a small silver item glimmering in the sunlight from overhead. She grasped it, brushing the parched soil from the item. "Boone."

"What'd you find?"

Shit, she didn't think she wanted to tell him. Elest slowly pulled himself to her feet, rubbing the grime from the piece of currency. Two men on both sides of the coin. "A Denarius." She turned around and held it out to him, "It's warm, but not like it's been in the sun all day type of warm. Do you think. . ?"

"I wouldn't be surprised to find that the Legion scouted through here." He answered, almost like he was dismissing her fearful disposition. Elest stared at him.

"Isn't this your thing? To be vigilant?" With resentment, she threw the coin onto the ground, crushing it underneath her boot. It was the closest thing she would ever get to smothering the Malpais Legate and Caesar's face into the dirt. Maybe there was a fine line between caution and paranoia, but this seemed more than understandable in her eyes.

"Then stay sharp and arm yourself. Nothing can be done until I've got them in my sights."

His words were unusually comforting, she gritted her teeth before pulling her boot away from the coin and leaving it smothered in the soil. Elest took his words as a command, dragging the strap of All-American around her torso so her weapon hung in front of herform. The notion of Caesar's Legion was never a good way to start out a day of traveling, especially for Elest, but it did them good, once they ventured away from the abandoned farmstead, they were attentive of their surroundings, eyes watching over each other's shoulders whenever they got the chance. Rex growled and snarled, like he noticed their caution.

"Too many hills," Elest uttered out after a long, and quite harrowing silence. Her fingernails scratched along the grip of her carbine as her eyes traced over each rise in the earth. It was a bitch to make sure each and every one of them was free from enemies when the glaring sun reflected off the sand. She used her free hand to pull down her shorts that were riding up her thighs.

She knew it wasn't a good time for one of her mindless comments, especially when they were traveling on open ground, she didn't even have her finger on the trigger. Elest rose her arm up to eyes length so she could click on her Pipboy to make sure they were heading North. After a short silence, she started up again.

"So if you could see the Legion Raid camp through your scope at that farm, why do we need to be up close to-"

"It's there." He replied before she could get the highly strung comment out of her mouth. "I checked this morning."

That wasn't comforting, and it sure as hell did not explain the coin up there at the farmstead, but she would have to make do. Elest had to calm herself down, more or less to make sure that if Boone tapped her on the shoulder it wouldn’t send her into a frenzy. "They weren't packing up at all? You aren't worried?"

"Not worried. Just, curious."

So was she, but only the special type of curiosity where you'd rather stay fifty miles away than trot closer like a fucking buffoon. Just because he was a trained NCR battalion, like her mother, did not mean he should run into combat solely based on confidence. "Well, how close do we have to be? I'm not good with close range."

"Yeah, well you and me both." Boone slowed down, allowing the woman to stumble closer to his side while Rexy frolicked close by. "Still, to catch them by surprise we would need to be higher up."

Exactly, too many hillsides, like she had already fucking said.

At least there was a plan though, one that he was sharing with her, instead of just expecting her to follow him blind sighted. Elest released her hold on All-American to let it swing lazily at her front. Thankfully the hills were not as steep as they had been when she and Boone had been making their way to that abandoned ranch. Even so, the walk was exhausting, as it always seemed to be since the incident with her leg. Rexy scampered ahead of her, kicking sand back on her legs as he caught up with Boone to leave her in the dirt.

"Oh, you little shit." She complained, "now he's picking favorites."

"You're lagging behind, that's all." He replied, but his words were followed by him reaching the low rising summit and lowering himself down to his knees.

"Sorry for having such a fucked up leg." Elest huffed, as he glanced over at her, and with the mere stare of his eyes covered by those sunglasses was just enough to silence her completely.  Like getting a disapproving look from her mother, and just as effective, Elest joined him on solid ground, crouching down to grovel to his side.

"Stand down, Rexy." She snapped at the growling dog, her hand resting on his metallic backside. Boone briefly checked the casing of his ammunition to make sure that he was not missing any capsules before lifting the weapon.

"Interesting." He mused after a few moments, peering through his scope and at the vermillion tents in the distance, it was not too far as she could see them with her naked eye. If the three of them were to move even in the slightest, then surely they would be spotted. "Guess there were more than two tents."

"Joy, I sure do love surprises." He couldn't be sure if she meant that sardonically or not. Elest grabbed her carbine from her chest and shifted her weight so she could rest the gun on her knee as a bipod. Peering through her scope, she saw the sight much more clearly now. There were about half a dozen legionnaires, going about their morning business, packing up their camp in a slothful manner so they could continue East, from what she could guess that is.

The both of them were not surprised to find through their scopes, two Powder Gangers bounded, gagged, and forced upon their knees, a feeling that was all too familiar for Elest. "Well, I guess these boys are a bit late to the trading party. It's been a week since Nipton, why are they still out here?"

"Don't know. But it's good that we showed up." He cocked his weapon, and from the gentle movement of his barrel, she could tell he was already searching for his target.

"Wait, Boone." Elest reached forward to place her hand on the gun to stop him from pulling the trigger. "Just wait, okay? Let me find a target first."

Shockingly, he complied. Grunting in response before she moved the scope back in her line of sight. Staring intently at the man who wore a decanus facemask and was holding what appeared to be a submachine gun in his hands. She wouldn't want one of those bad boys pointed at her, that was for damn sure. "I got fancy pants with the feather hat." She droned, moving her finger to the trigger of her carbine.

"Good. Now fire."

Gee, that was a fleeting demand. But she didn't retaliate, squeezing the trigger and resisting against the kickback, she watched her bullet lodge itself deep into the chest of the man. Hopefully, his armor was not thick enough to stop the shot from being vital. Still, he fell in a heap, but was not dead.

Boone had already moved on to his next target, not that she found herself surprised. Elest learned from day one that she could not compete with his speed of singling out an opponent and taking them out before she could even say howdy. Her hearing clouded with her second shot, motioning towards a moving target that had tried to throw himself behind the crimson tents to shield himself from the fire. She severed the meat of his thigh, he collapsed down, but still managed to crawl out of sight.

"Shit." Better luck next time. All the targets were moving, and that wasn't her cup of tea when it came to battle. She hesitated, and with Boone firing off at the last of their opponents, she wasn't sure if she would be of any use. But that wouldn't stop her from trying. One of the Legion Explorers had caught sight of them on top of the hill, his arms flew up, aiming his hunting rifle at them. Elest didn't hesitate in firing, her bullet cleaving through his shoulder and continuing on into the distance. But the explosion of pain made the legionary drop his rifle. Boone finished him off with a quick and easy shot through the skull.

"Hot damn!" Elest rose from the sand, Rex whined with anticipation, the relentless echoing of their weapons had made his ears ring, the feeling was mutual with both her and Boone. She peered through her scope once more, she knew that one of them was still alive and cowering behind the tents, but she could get to solid ground and deal with him. The two Powder Gangers had not seemed to move, stunned and possibly relieved with the slaughter of their captives, but still bounded and in need of their aid.

Elest was ecstatic, every time her gun fired in the direction of a Legion representative it was like spitting in Caesar's senile face. It made her feel powerful, now being able to put down the ones that for so many years could beat her into the dirt with no reason. "Let's get down there." She turned to Boone, who only nodded and rose to his feet, she followed after him, gleefully limping along as Rex followed her shadow.

The closer she trotted towards the Legion camp, the more blood came visible, it was almost too quiet, with a scene like this, Elest felt like something was missing, like the continuous screams of agony and loss. She stepped over the body of the decanus, his chest sputtering as he gasped for his last breaths, his facial mask surely aiding him in his suffocation. There was no need to waste any ammunition.

Ah, there it was, the sound to disrupt the silence. The painful grunts and groans of the man who she had lodged a bullet into, he was collapsed against the metal beam that was keeping the tent propped up on the sand. His lips parted with his heavy labored breaths falling from them. He had no visible gun or any weapon, it only made her feel nervous. Nevertheless, it didn’t last.

"Hi there." She beamed, Boone cocked his gun at her greeting, ready to conclude what she had been unable to. But she shoved his rifle back, a signal to let the former Recon know that she intended to finish her business. She braced her hands back on All-American, her grin still not faltering. "Any last words?"

The question pulled an amused smile from his cracked and dried lips, staring back at her with dreary green eyes. "Suck my-"

Elest couldn’t have that and pulled the trigger, those all too predictable words falling short on his tongue, her bullet sinking deep through his left eye and out through the back of his head. It wasn't a pretty sight, all the blood, and gore, but it still calmed her nerves. Her feelings of apprehension for finding that Legion coin back at the farmstead had diminished a bit more after every gunfire. All that was left seemed to be freeing the captives.

The two men watched both Elest and Boone carefully, and maybe it was the sight of Boone's beret that put them off. Thinking that they had been saved only to be rallied up by members of the New California Republic. She kneeled down to one of the men's level and began to undo the binds, a grin stuck to her lips. "You're free to go, just don't cause too much trouble out here." Once the rope was unraveled the member of the Powder Gangers stumbled back, welted hand flying up to pull the gag from his mouth. There were no thanks uttered from them, but it was not like she had been expecting one.

Boone watched carefully as she moved over to the next man, untying the fibers from his wrist and releasing a considerate nod. The two convicts began to flee from the scene, running away from the camp and through the landscape until they could no longer be spotted by the both of them. Elest glanced over at her companion, unsure of how he felt about what she had just done.

He did not mention it, "we should look for anything of use."

The courier nodded, brushing loose strands of red hair from her face, "Got it."

In silence they searched the area, shyly stepping over the deceased bodies of Caesar's Legion. The decanus had at last gone quiet, so in the moments without conversation, she did not have to listen to the soft gurgles of a man close to death.

Rex sniffed at the bodies, which was kinda off-putting for Elest, even if she knew he was just looking for anything of use, or that held the scent of Gecko. She searched the insides of the footlockers for anything of use, finding fresh vegetables, ammunition, a few more decanters of antivenom, purified water, a couple bottle caps, and a slab of what she guessed to be dog meat. . . Something that she didn't feel comfortable sharing with Rexy.

She rose to her feet, glancing over her shoulder to see if Boone had come wandering back from the storage tent, her hands were full and he had her duffel bag. Once she glanced up, she noticed the towering Legion flag centered in the campsite. She shuddered with a chill, thankfully that banner itself was all ragged and old, but the effect was still there.

Elest pondered if she could ever live out her desire of burning one, to just throw it into that ailing campfire, but the sound of Boone's footsteps coming down from large tent on the upper level pulled her from her notion of action. Elest motioned to the items in her arms, to which he made a move to unzip her duffel bag. She stepped forward and indolently tossed the products inside.

She dusted the gathering dirt off of her badland shorts. "Ready to head out?" Elest inquired.

He nodded, throwing his hunting rifle over his shoulder.

 

* * *

 

After they had left the abandoned sight of the Legion raid camp, Boone and Elest kept their silence. He had slowed to a pace so that she could travel comfortably beside him, and with Rex far ahead, chasing around a small Gecko Hunter, they had nothing but each other, and the roads.

Elest sighed, lifting her arm up to click restlessly on her Pipboy as she passed by a battered pre-war car. The anatomy screen still insisted that her leg was crippled, even if it had been stabilized and treated well enough that it should be able to trick the device. Her arm slugged back to her side as she bit the inside of her cheek. An apprehensive glance shot in the Recon's direction. She watched him move her duffel bag further up his shoulder before adjusting the hold of his hunting rifle.

"Are you mad at me?"

Her questioned didn't even faze him, then again he was wearing shades so Elest was enable to see whether or not his eyes shifted to stare over at her in confusion. His jaw stayed clasped and his head straight forward.

When he didn't reply immediately, she felt the need to elaborate. "For letting those Powder Gangers go. I know that the NCR doesn't really like them-"

"It doesn't matter to me." He cut in. "What I saw back there was you, saving two lives from fate at the hands of the Legion. You did good."

Her mouth opened to reply, but the words fell flat on her tongue with his words of recognition. A completely different sentence sprung to life in its wake. Eyes lighting up with a foolish smile sprouting on her lips. "Thanks. . . You did well good out there too, you know."

The silence that followed was a lot less heavy. Now that the question lying on her conscious had been answered, she could go back to mindless thoughts and hums, and perhaps a few questions could be thrown out in between the two of them.

Elest wasn't sure whether or not Rex was playing a game of chase with a baby Gecko out in the distance or his talent in hunting was beginning to waver due to his health issues, either way, it kept him busy for a good ten minutes as they followed the roads. The sun was hidden behind a few stray clouds which gave them a tasteful amount of needed shade, but did not satiate the courier's desire to lock herself in an ice cooler. Beggars could not be choosers, she knew that.

Elest began to fan her chest with the collar of her lightweight flannel. "Not that it's any of my business, but where are you from?" Inquiries like these could be a minor distraction from the sweat beading up on the arch of her back. "I tried asking you back in Nipton, but I'm guessing that hadn't been the right time."

"California." He replied. His head craned to the side, those damn glasses, hiding every ounce of expression, she would otherwise see in his eyes. "I was stationed here in the Mojave to help with the Hoover Dam."

Elest smiled faintly, "so where in California? You a farm boy or something?"

"Just California." He repeated, much more sternly this time. She rose her hands up, a sign for him that she was done pushing.

"It was just out of curiosity." She added gently, coming to a sudden halt at the sight of a banana yucca plant that seemed just ripe for harvest, right off the interstate roads. Elest tapped Boone's shoulder to bring it to his attention, allowing herself to stumble forward and cautiously pick the fruits. "My parents were from California, I never really thought to go there, you know, by myself."

"You should. It's a nice place." He added, unzipping the front pocket of her duffel bag, letting her set a small bundle of the yucca plant inside.

"Not until Rexy is fixed," Elest added with a serene tone, brushing her hands together in order to get the excess off of her fingers. "I couldn't go alone, but hey, maybe I could convince you to go with me, you think?"

An ambitious thing to ask of him. He released a quiet grunt prior to zipping back up the bag and hauling it on his shoulder. Elest stared up at him, head cocked to the side waiting for his reply. She could sense that he did not want to respond, the both of them had only known one another for about a week and she was already asking him to venture with her up north.

"I didn't join up with you to go on any nature walks. If you're planning on leaving the Mojave after Rex gets his surgery, then that's on you."

Elest actually found herself taken back, he was known to be blunt, and she knew she shouldn't have allowed the words to pierce her skin. She had been hoping that over the course of the week he would slowly begin to warm up to her, and it was a bit disappointing to find out just how thick his shell really was, maybe even thicker than hers.

"You're just going to go where the Legion is, aren't you?" His silence was enough of an answer, staring down at her with the same leering expression he always seemed to possess with those shades on. "Look, I know they took your wife. That's a good reason to chase down _anyone_ , but-"

"Just stop right there. This conversation is over."

"Boone-"

He would have probably cut her off again, and she wouldn't blame him. If anyone came up to her and started an insensitive conversation involving her little sister and deceased mother, she would have struck them across the face with all the strength she could muster at that moment. But his hardened features faltered, lips parting before he abruptly reached out and grabbed her shoulders.

"Boone-!" She heard the firing of a gun, almost too late, if he hadn't reacted then surely she would be on the ground. He hauled her to the side to shield her from the line of fire, a groan sputtered from his lips and his hand clenched her forearm. She didn't need to see it to know that he had taken that bullet for her. She didn't know where it had struck, but it was enough for her to know that if given enough time their attackers would not hesitate to kill him.

"Rexy! Stand down!" Elest bellowed as she was unsure where the animal exactly was, and did not want him sprinting into open fire. Her trembling fingers wrapped around the barrel of All-American as she dashed behind the remains of a dismantling vehicle. Elest didn't know what they would have done if the both of them had been completely in the open with nothing but cacti ahead of them.

Boone joined her side, not a second after, her heart hammering in her chest and her eyes were as wide as saucers. She resisted the urge to stretch her neck out and peek over to see who exactly they were up against, but the concern for her companion was much more dominating.

"Are you okay?" She asked frantically, the words wavered at the sight of his right hand clasped tightly around his bicep. The tips of his fingers were stained red with his face blanching from the affliction.

"It's Legion." He started, effectively ignoring her overwhelming disturbance for what had just happened. "Four men. I can still shoot. Only two of them have ranged weapons. Go for them first."

Her mind was too scrambled to even respond vocally, nodding fervently with her limbs feeling completely detached from her torso. Elest couldn't even recall how many bullets she still had loaded into her carbine and if she had even refilled the clip, not to mention she didn't even know if Rex had heard her command. But the calmness in the former recon's words gave her a boost of tranquility. He had just been shot in the arm for god's sake and if he could remain relaxed then by damn, she could too.

Elest cocked her weapon, shifting her weight to peer around the broken trunk. She could see them ambling through the fairly crowded road, a good amount of cars and trucks gave Boone and Elest a few minutes before they would get spotted. She didn't know the Legion rank names too well but she knew that Vexillarius hood like the back of her hand. One man looked like he had nails poking out of his Legion attire, and the last two had feathered helmets with their faces entirely covered by face wraps and goggles. Not the normal Legion scouts, that was for sure.

Elest did as Boone had requested, looking at their hands she quickly found one of them with an auto assault rifle and lined him up in her sights. She could see the outline of the scope quivering from her unsteady hands, with a deep breath taken and exhaled, she squeezed the trigger.

What she hadn't done was wait to see if her bullet had struck her target, you have to love automatic weaponry. The force of the firing had the stock of her carbine hammering into her shoulder until her skin and bone became raw, her ears filling with white noise, but she could still hear Boone's hunting rifle splitting through the air right alongside hers.

"Head down!"

Elest hadn't seen why, but she did not question the Recon, pulling back and cowering behind the driver's door of the vehicle. The Legion's spray of bullets was much more demanding and closer than they had been last time. Puncturing through the old metal car and missing her appendages by inches. She paid Boone a petrified glance with her carbine held tightly to her chest.

"Did you hit any of them?" She asked, eyes not meeting his as she was captivated by the growing amount of blood on his bicep. He nodded.

"He went down. Don't worry."

"Come quietly and you will be spared of an agonizing death!" One of the remaining Legion bellowed once the echoes of the shots rang out. The words pulsated in her ears for a few seconds, she didn't know if this was her fault or Boone's. From what she could guess, they both weren't particularly liked by Caesar's goons. By god she didn't want it to be her, just have it be a nasty coincidence that a bundle of legionaries was wandering the roads at noon. But things like this were never just by chance, or was it?

Elest longed to hurtle back an antagonizing comment at the men, she knew if she was going to go out, she would go out with famous last words. But she knew that it would only make things worse, allowing them to know what side of the car she was on and granting them an advantage all by hearing the echo of her sentence. Clenching her jaw to keep it from quivering, she spoke. "What are we going to do?" She whispered.

"I've got your back, don’t worry,  just fight."

Goddammit, was this really going to be all or nothing? Honestly, she could live with that, but she would have felt much more secure if there was some sort of plan in order. Elest would have to be quick, she heaved her gun back up on the trunk of the car and pulled the trigger back to fire aimlessly, keeping her head down in fear that they were waiting for the moment she peered up.

"Got him!" Boone spoke through gritted teeth over the sound of battle, even with a bullet lodged in his arm, he was still a much more efficient shot than she was. Something had been dealt with, as soon as she heard the agonized shout of the man Boone had taken out, she was sure that was the last of the ranged attacks. With that belief thick in her notions, she rose to her feet in order to scamper closer to the remaining foes, leaving Boone to fend for himself. Hopefully, she would be able to move the discarded guns before the remaining legionaries thought to pick them up from their fallen comrades. She heard Boone call for her to stop and stay back but she disregarded his words.

"Fuck, fuck!" Elest felt the discomfort in her leg building as she sprinted onward, trying to pay it no mind while she passed by a large truck missing the top of its trailer. Once out in the open, she spotted one of the men unclasping his thermic lance off of his back behind the safety of a pre-war car, waiting for the correct time to strike. She couldn't pin the whereabouts of the other legionary, hopefully, Boone could still see her from where he resided.  

Martial combat was one of the only things that usually played in her favor, but up against a man who solely relied on nothing but melee weapons and his fists was going to be a challenge. Which is why her carbine was still in her hands, locked and loaded and ready for whatever mistake she was about to make. Elest only got five feet in front of the car before the man lunged out to attack, the metal Lance swinging close to her chest and nearly searing the buttons of her flannel. She stumbled back to quickly evade the impact, her knee locked and she suddenly stumbled to the asphalt.

A curse fluttered from her lips, she knew she wouldn't have enough time to get to her feet and shove him back with her knee and dog bite still causing trouble. If it was not for the Legionary's facemask she would have probably seen the sick grin that was manifesting on his lips, he rose the Lance once more to level it with her neck.

He paused. Elest wasn't sure why, but in that split second of hesitation it gave her an opening to have her left leg fly out and kick him hard in his shin. Enough to cause him to stagger and nearly drop his weapon. Giving her a distraction while she quickly rose to her feet, grabbing hold of All-American hanging around her neck and pointing the muzzle at the bastard. He glanced up, the gun in his face.

 

 _"Vale_ you son of a bitch." Elest spat, pulling the trigger.

 

_Click._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .... Cliffhanger. I should be sorry, I am but ((:  
>  (If anyone is confused the "click" was Elest running out of ammo.)
> 
> The chapter got too long so it had to stop somewhere. Hopefully the next chapter will be written much quicker than this one. BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 800 HITS! Makes me glad to see people reading my shit willingly.
> 
> Also read The Way Of The Wind because I'm desperate.


	8. Well, Stercus Accidit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy late Halloween Y'all! I went over this chapter the day after I posted it because Boone doesn't say SHIT! So, now he does, just a little bit more so it doesn't sound fucking horrible. This chapter holds a lot of my sweat and tears from trying to write this during a really shitty mental state (hence Boone's silence), but I think I like it? Sorry for leaving you all on a cliffhanger for the last chapter! 
> 
> This won't be any better. Enjoy!

Sometimes. . . Life was a bitch, and other times it was an infamous bastard. But this? This wasn't even funny. Not to her. Not to _anyone,_ honestly.  
  
The look on Elest's face must have been comical as she stared down at the legionary her gun was currently angled towards. The blood in her veins quickly turned to ice and the hairs on her arms stood up from chills, the man stared at her through his black tinted goggles, astonished. A muffled sound of laughter came from him, an ugly sort of snort at her attempt to end his life.  
  
Out of all the times she could have run out of ammunition it had to be now. God, the fucking _nerve. . ._  
  
Elest felt someone grab her from behind, an arm wrapping around her throat and pulling her back against their chest. The compression strangled out any form of communication she could possess. The Legionary in front of her grabbed his Thermic Lance from the road where it had cluttered to the asphalt. Cursing to himself while he dusted the grime off of his chest. With his calm movements, the courier struggled.  
  
"Son of a-" Her fingernails scratched deeply into her attacker's forearm.  
  
"Quiet, you profligate whore." The words heated the back of her neck and sent an inward chill through her body. Spite hidden deep inside those words, perhaps it had to do with the two legion bodies lying dead on the roads. He began to drag her further from the road, her heels skidding in the dirt. "You-"  
  
The words were cut short, a gunshot rang through the air from her side and the man with an unnecessarily tight hold around her throat faltered. His arm slipped from her neck and he fell to the ground. There had only been enough time for Elest to reach up to press her fingers to her neck before the other Legion recruit was shot dead as well.  
  
Elest spun around, brown eyes wide with a sputtered gasp leaving her mouth. "Boone, holy sh- are you okay?"  
  
Safe to say that he looked infuriated, perhaps even disturbed. Different from his daily look of tasteful annoyance, and with their current circumstances it was pretty understandable. His sunglasses were cracked closest to the nose pad, and the blood on his left arm had streamed down to his elbow to stain the material of his shirt. He lowered his rifle cautiously as she approached, nodding softly.  
  
It wasn't hard to call bullshit. "Fuck , alright. We're stopping here to get that bullet out." Clasping her hands together to stop them from trembling, Elest wanted to worry about what had nearly just happened to her, to them. But with the bullet buried inside Boone's flesh, she couldn't even think to do anything less than aid him.

* * *

  
  
Not too many words were exchanged between them. Between Elest's frantic movements, quivering hands, and Rex whimpering with apprehension, there wasn’t too much time to add in any sardonic commentary. Which was a disturbing change, and fortunately it didn't last long.  
  
"I'm not really a doctor." She decided to add, hauling her duffel bag up into the broken trunk of a destroyed car right off the interstate. "But I _do_ know someone who is, so _hopefully;_ their skill rubbed off on me."  
  
Boone continued to silently watch her haste through the items in her bag, throwing junk out and cursing under her breath. "Can you calm down?" He questioned after a few ongoing seconds of her actions, it wasn’t something he could just sit and watch, "it's just a bullet wound."  
  
"Yeah, just a bullet wound given by a bunch of fucking-" Elest shuddered, trailing off. She found her doctors bag hidden underneath a set of dirtied clothes, pulling it up and out to set it by his thigh. She fastened her jaw to make sure she wouldn't say anything she would regret.

"Are you alright?" He spoke, Elest looked at him, she could already see the way he was staring at her over his broken shades, even for a man who had a damn bullet in his arm, _he_ was more concerned about _her_ safety.

"Me?" She scoffed, moving to open her medical bag, grabbing her spare bandages from inside and unraveling the material, he heard her audibly release a sigh from her nose. "Move your hand, big guy." She spoke.  
  
"It's fine. I can do it myself." He replied, which made a soft frown overtake her mouth.  
  
"No. You wouldn't say that to a real doctor, so don't say it to me." Elest retorted, progressing to move his hand on her own accord. Her hands were clammy from stress, but he didn’t retaliate. Boone allowed her to move his hand from the affliction, the feeling being equivalent to peeling off a day old Band-Aid.  
  
Elest grimaced at the sight, gently placing the wraps over the wound and blotting it with care, something he appreciated. She tenderly removed the patchy and clumped blood from his skin, exactly how she could recall Siri doing so many years ago, asking the same damn questions too. "How bad does it hurt?"  
  
Elest stared at him, watching his jaw clench every time she pressed down a bit too much on the injury. He grunted, shifting on the rusted metal of the car trunk. Using his free hand to move up and remove his sunglasses. Useless, as long as they were broken. "I've been through worse. Don't worry." Honestly, he seemed more disgruntled with his broken shades than he did his own arm.  
  
"That's no excuse." She muttered, pressing the bandage down on the wound to add a tasteful amount of pressure. "Hold this. We're going to try and take the bullet out, you good with that?"  
  
"Yeah. That's fine."  
  
Pressing his hand over the material, he winced, the sides of his eyes crinkling at the tension. He watched her nod, more to herself than anyone else. They went back to their miserable silence, something much heavier than it should have been. Boone knew that there was something on her mind, something on both of their minds that they didn't desire to address. The sudden attack of Legion couldn't be random. Whether it had to do with the death of Jeannie May Crawford or the Legion men that they had killed during their travels. It could be any one of his sins, dragging down a poor woman with him.  
  
Elest pulled out a steel pair of tweezers, cleaning off the tips with the hem of her red flannel. She exhaled deeply, "right, now move it."  
  
"Have you ever done this before?" He inquired, moving the bandage from his wound. Blood had already begun to stain the material, but thankfully the bullet hadn't gone deep. A thick bead of ammunition that had not lived up to its full potential. The metal rim was easily spotted, bulging out of his flesh.  
  
Elest paused, clamping the utensils together, creating a soft 'clink' as she pondered, "a few times. Not always bullets." She inched forward, hands still shaking while she hovered the utensil over his wound. Gently, she tried to take hold of the rim of the bullet, and to test the waters she tugged at the capsule.  
  
Immediately Boone jerked, a guttural groan left his lips at the movement. Elest uttered out a meek apology, losing her hold on the ammunition at his reaction. "You're going to have to stay still." She reminded hastily.  
  
"Then give me a warning next time." He spoke, a bit insensitive of him, he was the one just explaining to her that it was _just_ a bullet wound. Bit of a bambino if you asked her, but she didn’t argue, instead she just nodded and continued the delicate work. With much softer movements, she did not disrupt him, trying to kindly remove the bullet without causing any further damage.  
  
Seconds passed. "You didn't have to do that, you know," Elest said sullenly, a stream of blood cascaded down from the wound when she eased the metal out. "You didn't have to shield me. You didn't know if they were aiming for the head or not."  
  
She felt his muscle tense underneath the tweezers. "It's good that I did then because they would have killed you."  
  
"Yeah, they would have killed you instead and then-" Her own words disturbed her work, causing the man in front of her to let out a quiet groan. Elest pulled the piece of ammunition from his skin. She could imagine it now, that conversation concerning a venture into California being the last words out of his mouth before a bullet shot through his head. His death would have left her alone with the Legion, and god knows how that would’ve ended, probably the same way it had started.

The courier felt her bottom lip quiver. "You know what they would've done."  
  
"I wouldn't have let that happen." He retorted, his tone low and tedious. Elest bit the inside of her cheek, he seemed very sure of his statement like he was just voicing a fact. She nodded quickly, setting down the surgical tweezers alongside Boone’s sunglasses. "I shouldn't have let my guard down.”

  
_His_ guard down? Awfully bold of him to assume that all this was _his_ fault when she was the one who ran off, and without even checking her ammo. Elest didn't know why she kept finding herself surprised, seeing the man blame himself for the both of them being attacked without warning. Elest didn’t think there could have been a way for this to be predicted. "You saved my life, so why are you pointing fingers at yourself?"  
  
Her words got him to quiet down, lips pressed together and his eyes adverted to the road. Elest grabbed her reused bottled water that was filled with wound disinfectant, Arcade's old concoction that he left with her after he went back to the old Mormon Fort. The thought of him made a somber frown sprawl out on her lips, splashing a bit of the fluid on some loose bandages, she began to wrap the material around Boone's arm. "I'm sorry, by the way."  
  
Still, the only reaction she got from him had to be the marginal amount of tension in his burly arm when the sterilizer came in contact with the wound. His eyes moved up to meet hers, one of the rare times where she got to see him staring back at her. "For what?" He asked.  
  
"For bringing up your wife." She added, and for doing so again. Elest saw the change in his expression, a look of grief came over him at her words. And with the absence of his shades, it only made it much more perceivable. "It was out of line, and I'm sorry." She tied the loose ends of the bandages, keeping her eyes focused on her work.  
  
He paused, the gauze binding around his arm with enough pressure to slow the bleeding. "It's fine. Don't mention it." He grunted.  
  
Elest smiled timorously, nodding her head and lifting her hand to smack her palm over the bandaging like you would pat a friend on the back. With a curt glimpse over her shoulder, the both of them could see Rex sniffing curiously at the corpses on the roads. She sighed deeply, "I'm going to search the Legionaries, you in any shape to help?"  
  
Boone nodded, rolling his shoulders back with ease. He made a move to pull himself to his feet. "Yeah, I'll check to see if they have any spare ammo."  
  
Elest relaxed her posture, with the material wrapped around his arm he seemed alright. Other than the discoloring in his face and the blood that still stained his skin and clothes. "Good, maybe one of these bad guys have another pair of sunglasses that are conveniently your size."  
  
"Don't count on it."  
  
"I won't. You have a pretty big head."  
  
Boone's lips curved to frown in her direction, he wouldn't say he appreciated that comment, but it was actually comforting to see her fatuous behavior coming back from behind the clouds. Caesar's Legion could dampen anyone's mood if given the opportunity, but when it came to the courier she seemed to completely turn to stone.  
  
Moving over to Rex, she shuffled to her knees in order to shove his snout from the body. "Come on, stand down bud." She commanded gently, he snarled prior to reluctantly backing away from the corpse, brown eyes ogling her as she began to search through the legionary's pockets.  
  
It was hard to believe that not even twenty minutes ago this man had his arm wrapped around her neck, intent on dragging her off to a fate that she already knew too well. Elest wasn't sure if she could keep her eyes trained on the Legion armor for long without feeling a state of nausea coming on. Her fingers steered clear from the blood pooling from the hole in his mask, all she could really say was that Boone was a fantastic shot.  
  
She rummaged through the pockets, finding nothing more than Denarius coins and nourishment for the road. "Wouldn't make sense if. . ." Elest trailed off, tongue pressing against the roof of her mouth in concentration. She could hear Boone getting to his feet, ambling closer to her with his hunting rifle strung over his front.  
  
"What?" Elest was sure that he would just ignore her mindless babbling, especially when muttered underneath her breath. Glancing up at him, she got to her feet with the silver coins still in her hand.  
  
"They were following us." She stated brusquely, they had to be. It would have explained the constant feeling of eyes burning into the back of her flannel, but it didn't explain why it took so damn long for them to strike. Had they been plotting? It was just two individuals with a hound dog, they couldn't have been expecting much from them. Especially when it was two against four. Unless they knew who Boone was, unless they knew who _she_ was.

"We would have known."

He didn't need to say it, but Elest knew that he deemed her a fool. "Fine, just. . . There's three more bodies to loot. I can take all the cash I can get, alright?" Something stinks, and she didn't mean the corpses. This whole situation didn't seem fucking normal. It wouldn't be a surprise to hear that they took one look at Boone's 1st Recon Beret and went bonkers, but why wait? Why did that Legionary not burn her to a goddamn crisp when he had the chance? Why give her a chance to fight back? Why fucking hesitate?

"I'm checking the Decanus," Elest stated, moving past a battered motorcycle that looked liked it would blow up if you brushed your knee against it. She pressed her clammy hands together in order to keep herself from fidgeting, Boone replied back with a curt answer of "Be careful." As she marched forward.

The Decanus had been one of the first to fall from what she could recall. One of the men her companion had shot when they were taking cover behind one of the shoddy pre-war vehicles currently stockpiled on the interstate. Elest got to her knees, Rex impatiently standing at her side, shifting from paw-to-paw in anticipation. She dug her fingers inside of the man's pockets, a frown dominating her lips as Rexy sat down at her side, sniffing cautiously at the man's limp hand.

A small bottle of water, a few 12.7mm rounds, as well as antivenom which was an item she was growing exasperated of seeing. Yet nothing else, not one fucking lead on why these crimson goons decided to single the three of them out. "Bullshit," Elest grumbled underneath her breath, falling back to settle on her ass. Rex stared up at her with beady eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest.

The hound stared down at the body, probing his snout near the burly set of armor as if noticing her distress, she didn't stop him, allowing him to fruitlessly search his person. 

 _Two weeks_. In two weeks she had dealt with more Legion than she had in the last fucking three and a half years. Her luck had officially gone drier than the desert around her. Elest didn't blame Boone, but goddammit his restless battle against Caesar's legion wasn't making this witch-hunt for her any more serene, surely.

"Seriously, Rexy stop it." She reached out to shove his head from its placement nearest the dead decanus's chest, but his body did not budge, a guttural growl escaping his lips. The reaction made her raise an eyebrow at her furry companion. "You find something on his shirt?" Probably stains from his last supper, Legion men never seemed to know any manners so she wouldn't doubt it for a moment.

Elest snapped her fingers irritably. "Stand down." She ordered, her tone stern enough to coerce the animal into relaxing back on his hind legs. He growled, rounding the corpse to wander around the area. Elest rolled her eyes at his actions, hastily checking the material of the dead legion's attire, searching for any spare pockets or items that would come to Rex's attention, things that only she would come to miss.

"Fucking slap my head and call me funky." Elest hummed, her fingers coming across a hidden pocket just under the Decanus's shoulder pad littered with doornails. Slimy little bastards, snaking her fingers inside she came across a neatly folded piece of paper. Slightly yellowed from age and seemed to have blotches of blood on the corners.

She was wrong. Once it was unfolded she found the splash of crimson turned out to be a small depiction of the Legion bull in the midst of the page. On the first line she saw neat handwriting, Elest frowned. 

 

>   
>  _**Bring little Rutilia back unscathed. Lucius would dread to see that pretty little face of hers harmed. If any of her profligate friends dare to oppose you, kill them.** _
> 
> _**Vale,** _
> 
>  
> 
> _**Vulpes** _

 

There were things that made her sick to her goddamn stomach, and then there was. . . _This_ . The mere visual of the handwriting made the scarce amount of food in her stomach lurch like it was trying to exit her body. Everything about those letters was downright _revolting,_ was it possible to even _have_ immoral handwriting? He had written those words down, an order that came directly from him. Vulpes fucking Inculta had held this very piece of paper and written on it, now it was touching _her_ . Touching her goddamn fingers. Oh my _god._

“Did you find anything?”

Elest jumped, almost forgetting that Boone had been checking the other bodies around her. Rex growled, his brown eyes boring into her like he was hoping she would tell the truth. She couldn’t. Hell, if she even did then no doubt she would cry. She would have to explain, and for the love of all that was holy, Elest didn’t fucking want to. Not again. It was stressful enough the first time she had told someone, god forbid she didn’t want to tell the big bad recon who already had good reason to hate Caesar’s Legion.

Her hesitation could have been suspicious. “No.” She replied quickly, hands moving to crumble the note into a small ball as he approached. Placing her right hand in front of her with the hope that she could pull herself to her feet. Her head was spinning, the disgust boiling inside of her gut was growing overwhelming. Elest could almost see Vulpes’ face, almond eyes simmered with amusement, thin lips pulled into a sadistic grin, heartless fucking _bastard_. “Just some-”

Her stomach lurched and cold chills ran down her arms. Elest placed her hands out in front of her and threw up in the sand, from the lack of food in her belly, nothing seemed to come up other than bile that burned the inside of her throat. “Oh god.” She coughed, like she had drank three bottles of whiskey and was now suffering the aftermath. This wasn’t the first time she had thrown up from distress and overwhelming disgust before, but not at the mere thought of the man’s hands and face.

“You alright?”

Elest nodded her head, recoiling once more with her fingers tightening into fists, her right hand pressed against her chest. Boone leveled himself alongside the woman, Rex whined repentantly in front of the body, unsure whether or not he wanted to move forward and sniff at the discolored fluid. The recon reached forward to grab the loose strands of hair from coming in contact with the discharge, he wasn’t good at comfort so it was the least he could do for her.

She grimaced, her throat dwindling and allowing her to calm down. Her heart throbbed, pounding in her chest, sniveling, she groaned. "What was that?" Boone asked, it didn't take brilliace to hear the concern in his tone. "Maybe we should lie low for a little bit."

"No, no more of that. We've wasted enough time." Elest spoke, she tried to be sly, opening the Legionary's water bottle toswallow what was left, setting the bottle on the road. "We need to get to Freeside,” trying to avert the conversation into something much more useful would be her only way to brush it off. She could feel the material of her flannel sticking to the sweat on her back. She kept the note hidden in her grip.

“Thought we were heading for the Crimson Caravan Company.” Still, he held his hand out in front of her, she reluctantly took hold, letting him help her to her feet.

“I don’t know, alright? I need to think.” She retaliated, wiping her mouth, though she wasn’t sure if they had enough time for _thinking_ anymore. Thinking was going to waste time and get them fucking killed, not to mention a change of plans is not what Rexy needed. Elest would be shocked to see the dog still functioning normally in a few months tops. They needed money fast; for a new brain and for whatever hit them in the near future.

Oh fucking hell, what she would give to take a hit of that Jet in her bag. “If that's where we're going, it's fine by me. Keep your gun up.” He spoke, it was odd looking at him and actually being able to see him looking at her, they would have to buy him a new pair of shades. “If the Legion are after me then we should keep moving. It’ll take them a while to catch up.”

Dammit, she knew he’d think that this was all his fault. Elest could feel guilt begin to surface inside of her, she wanted to retaliate, tell him that it was stupid of him to assume that everything that occurred in his life was because of him, but the words never pass her lips. They couldn't have that conversation. Never. He lost his wife at the hands of the Legion, and she spent a good portion of her life fucking two of their officers. The circumstances of consent didn’t matter to her, it still felt wrong.

Maybe that was her feelings of shame. Elest would rather him remember her as an excitable girl with a bit of a Jet problem than the disobedient wife who belonged to Caesar’s 3rd in command. She nodded, hastily stuffing the note down her shirt, but making it look like she was adjusting the straps of her bra. “Then let’s get a move on.”

 

* * *

 

They kept within close distance to each other this time. Once they came across Novac, the companions made a quick decision to stop by and allow Dr. Straus to take a look at Boone’s arm. 50 caps for mediocre doctor’s work if you asked her. He was given a shot of Med-X and they were back on the road.

With the dinosaur fading from sight, the roads seemed deserted, except for the occasional wildlife. Both Boone and Elest kept caution as their first priority. Yet it only hardened her companion to the point of him noticing everything _but_ her and her comments. Rex didn’t run too far ahead either, instead, he decided to whine with his beady brown eyes staring in Boone’s direction, like he was waiting for the man to collapse from blood loss. “I think he’s worried for you,” Elest spoke, it was the first thing she said that caught his attention. He could make out the small grin on her face, “I’d take it as a sign that he likes you, if I were you.”

“He doesn’t need to worry about me.”

“That’s not the point.” Elest retorted, eyebrows knitting together in order to frown in his direction. “Anyway, care for some music?” Her fingers already stretching towards her Pipboy.

“No, we need to be alert. The radio could be used as distraction.” He replied immediately, his eyes swept over the large billboard placed off the road. An animated man drinking a bottle of Sunset Sarsaparilla. Elest released an exasperated sigh, her hand falling back to her side.

“We were already attacked, I doubt we’ll be lucky enough for it to happen again.”

“I don't want to take any chances.”

“Yeah, sure.” She adjusted the fit of her cowboy hat to make sure that it kept the sun out of her eyes. Her duffel bag that was strung over her shoulder was already causing her issues. She doesn’t carry it for a few days and suddenly after ten minutes of holding it and her back wants to give out. “It’s good that we can see the Luck 38 now. Means we’re getting closer.”

It was weird to think about, but Elest had already been back to Freeside, right after being shot in the head. She never saw anyone, nevertheless she was practically in a frenzy the whole time and hadn’t been right in the head. She wasn’t sure if she saw anyone she actually knew. Elest had climbed up on the rocks alongside the right of I-15, just so she could get past the deathclaws with no problem. All so she could make sure Rex wasn’t dead. Elest still couldn’t believe she did that. Especially since she had only been awake for about 48 hours and was already rock climbing.

“Any reason on why we’re heading for Freeside?”

Elest fumbled with the tearing bandage underneath her Pipboy, “yeah. I remembered someone owes me a good favor. So I’m going to ask them for money, for Rex’s brain.” God, she hoped that was all she would want. The thought of Freeside made her feel odd. She had hit one of her lowest points on those streets and had struggled to get back to her feet for a long time. Walking back there would feel like walking back in time. Like it felt when she and Boone went through Camp Searchlight. But instead of wanting to shoot hay dummies with her mother’s teammates, she’ll want to get high on really any narcotic she can find.  “I wasn’t planning on ever using the favor, but I don’t think I have a choice now.”

"You only remembered it now?" He asked, her eyebrows pulled together in offense.

"How about you get shot in the head and try to remember shit." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "It would take too long to get cash any other way," and maybe Elest was just starting to figure that out. Maybe it had to do with the conversation the both of them had, but Elest found herself watching Rex more often. There was a slight limp in his back legs, and she was starting to think that the reason he wasn’t chasing the wildlife around them wasn’t that he was worried they would be attacked, it was because he was too weak to try. He was still eating, that is something she could have confidence in. She had heard somewhere that some animals stopped eating once things became severely wrong.

Elest wondered if Boone could see what she was doing. Once she stopped pushing conversation, everything was quiet, and the courier wouldn’t be surprised to hear that he could feel the aura of fear swallowing her up. For many reasons, she couldn’t breathe. There were too many things to focus on, finding the city boy who shot her, her husband and Vulpes being hot on her tail, and now her furry companion being closer to death than he was before.

Too much to focus on. Elest just needed to breathe, and continue walking.

 

* * *

 

The sun began to disappear behind the warm colored horizon. After a few hours, Boone slowly let go of his intense caution and agreed to turn on the radio. Shocking on how some old pre-war tunes helped her wind down, they always had, but Elest was never really appreciated the full extent that it could help. Billie Holiday sang through the speakers on her Pipboy and she without thinking began to hum along, fumbling with the safety button on her carbine. With the day coming to an end, the heat was finally climbing down to a minimum, something the both of them could stand.

Now her clothes weren’t sticking to her skin from the heat. If they were then it was more or less just from anxiety.

The makeshift sign titled Gun Runners was the first thing she made out as they ventured down the road, slowing to a mindless stroll. Elest’s eyes gazed over the destroyed buildings in their wake, stepping over the cement rubble. Rex barked, frolicking forward and going between two of the structures. “Should we go after him?” Boone questioned, making a move to throw his hunting rifle over his shoulder.

“Not yet, he's just going to the East gate. Some of the king’s men are usually out there smoking. He’s just saying hello.” Elest knew she should probably follow after him, knowing that the last time he went up to that gate alone, she had been shot in the head. They would probably expect her to be dead this time, and she didn’t want them to get the wrong impression.

“Come on, Freeside is a lot more dangerous when the sun goes down. We should hurry up.”

Forcing her pace to a bit more of a gallop, she looked a bit pitiful. Boone knew that with her limp she was bound to be seen as an easy target. Though, he still wasn’t sure if she was. Elest could handle herself depending on her state of mind and how hot it was outside, but she had survived this long. It was either she had a knack for finding people like him to help her out, or she really was just too lucky for her own good.

Moving up to the East Gate with Boone several steps behind her, she waved slightly to the king’s men lounging alongside the entrance to Freeside. The one in a short-sleeved tee and a cigarette in his mouth bent down to scratch behind Rexy’s ears. “Hey boy! So, you got him fixed yet, princess?”

“Getting there,” Elest replied, arms crossing over her chest. “So you going to tax me? I heard that’s a thing now. Sounds like something Pacer would do.”

The shorter man in the jacket got to his knees to allow Rex to sniff his palm. “Yeah, but you’re on the King’s no tax list, so you’re good.” He spoke, looking up to grin oddly at her, Boone frowned.

“Wait, seriously?”

 

“No, so five caps.”

“Go fuck yourself.” Elest retaliated, she supposed paying for their leader’s dog’s brain surgery wouldn’t be a good enough deed for her not to pay some bullshit toll. They were lucky that she was on her way to get some cash as soon as she got through the gate. Fishing her fingers into her back pocket, she found some spare caps she had stuffed in there when looting the Legionaries earlier. She handed it out to the man, “tell Pacer he owes me five caps now.”

Rex barked, his tail wagging profusely, and eyes a bit more bright than they were before reaching the gate. Maybe it was a good idea to stop by Freeside so soon. She marched forward to pull the gate open, Boone moved to follow in after her but one of the men in a leather jumper stepped in before he could.

“Not him, we have enough squatters taking up space in Freeside. He stays out.”

Elest stopped, moving to let the door rest against her shoulder. She cocked her head to the side in surprise. She didn’t think anyone would ever have the guts to stop Boone and tell him where he could and couldn’t go, she cut in before he could defend himself. “He’s not a squatter, he’s a soldier. Did you not notice the hat?”

It was hard to miss, being one of the very first things she spotted when meeting him back in Novac two weeks ago. They just wanted to order someone around, with all the tension between the NCR and The Kings it was enough to even put The Followers Of The Apocalypse on edge. It was obvious they wanted to retort, but they must have thought better of it. The guy in the white t-shirt scoffed, pulling the man in the leather jacket out of the way to let Boone pass.

“They’re going to give The King a bad name. Wait ‘til the followers find out they’re charging people at the gates.” Elest huffed once the scrap metal doors had been shut behind them, moving the duffel bag a bit higher on her shoulder, she looked around at the dismantled buildings on both of their sides, the only one with a suitable roof was Mick and Ralph’s general store. This whole place still gave her the chills.

"Guessing that they have to make ends meet, with the NCR pushing in." He looked around at the scenery, “any idea where we’re heading?” Boone asked as they began to move forward. Elest’s eyes glued themselves to the abandoned building just to their right where a ghoul in rags leaned against the stone walls, passed out right under the box powered streetlight.

“The Atomic Wrangler. God. . . Do you smell that? It’s like mentants mixed with Abraxo cleaner.” She rubbed her nose like it was running. Even though the sun was doing down there was still plenty of commotion, muffled yells from drunks and criers, as well as murders, rapes, and break-ins. Good riddance, but it was better than silence.  

Stacey and Max came darting by as they continued on, the boy nearly slammed straight into the courier’s leg with his unloaded weapon at arm’s length. Rexy’s ears shot down at the near contact, like he wanted to chase after the kid. Max didn’t have that toy gun the last time she had seen him.

“Keep your gun ready,” Boone recommended.

“It's at my hip, I’m fine. If not then Rex will take them out.” At the sound of his name, the animal’s tail began to wag. Security was all fine and dandy with her, what her problem was is that she didn’t feel right in the head. “You still have blood on your shirt, by the way."

His free hand moved up to brush off his top at her words, "I get it changed when I can."

 

Just ahead, Elest could see Dixon lounging against the building across the street, she was close enough to see that shitty cap on his head with the goggles around it, it was nice to know he still had a shitty taste in fashion.

Moving her eyes away from him before he could notice that she was staring, Elest decided to just ignore him with hopes that they’d be fine. Once they turned the corner and with her back to him, she heard his raspy voice holler out.

“Hey baby, need a fix? I got what you need.”

Elest shouldn’t have slowed down to a stop but she did, head whipping around to shoot a glare over at him from the other side of the road. “Fuck off, Dixon.” She replied indignantly, scoffing to herself and moving onward.

His laugh was still just as invidious as the first time she had heard it. “Come on kitten, you used to love my shit!”

Love, yeah right. She used to be addicted to it, there’s a big fucking difference. Paying him some mind would do her a lot more harm than good. “Ignore him,” Elest muttered in Boone’s direction, her lip turned into a slight frown.

“Is that the dealer you talked about?” He asked, she could almost hear the bit of concern in his voice. Her hand moved down to touch the top of Rex’s head for comfort, nodding in response.

“Yeah.” She sighed, “he gave it to me for free at first, and then started charging.” Saying it out loud made it sound a lot more pathetic than when she had first thought about it. What a dick move on his part. “A good way to do business I suppose, because I _did_ start paying.”

"You're trying to stop, so he doesn't have shit over you now.”

"Yeah, I guess that’s what matters.”

The walk was tense, even with a happy dog at their side. Maybe that had to do with Elest and her sharp glances at every onlooker and building that can in sight. When the west gate was behind them, Elest glanced over her shoulder to stare at the walls to the Mormon Fort, nearly stopping in her tracks altogether to observe. Arcade was in there somewhere, either sleeping or working on new ways to heal the people of Freeside. God, Elest was so close to him, yet it felt impossible to talk to him. The last time she had seen him it was a week before she got shot in the head, and they hadn’t exactly left off on the best of terms. The first time they had ever gotten in an argument, and he left for good.

_“You never wanted me as a friend, El. You just wanted someone to fix you.”_

Fuck, maybe he had been right, but usually, you just find another doctor or therapist when the former one proves to be fruitless. No one was like Arcade. No one would ever be like Arcade.

“Is this your first time to Freeside?” Small talk wasn’t her finest trait, but they hadn’t been attacked yet and his stubborn silence was starting to irritate her. The child who advertised for Mick & Ralph’s was couched down on the concrete and seemed to be resting. Elest opened the rusted door that separated the inner and outer parts of Freeside. The metal screeched in retaliation, which could have been a rude awakening for the little boy on the corner walk.

“No,” Boone replied, the both of them stepping through the door. The pre-war music coming from the King’s headquarters became much more clear the closer they got, it was like a constant theme song following around a dozen gel-heads; the only one out of the three of them who seemed content with it was Rex. “I’ve traveled through a once on leave with Carla. She insisted we hire a bodyguard, just in case.”

Elest looked over at him, wondering what look his face would have taken while bringing up his wife, but he kept his emotion at bay, giving her the same expression she was used to seeing on him, perhaps only just a bit more somber. “She sounds pretty cautious.”

“Yeah, she was, when she needed to be.” He responded. It was the most she would be able to get out of him. Elest could tell he didn’t want to speak further.

Walking underneath the bright sign spelling “FREESIDe”, Elest shuddered. Everything looked the same, she remembered when the blood of that Silver Rush crier covered the sidewalk after her and Cass’s retribution for those bitches was put in motion. The courier had promised herself that she wouldn’t need to come back to this place after that. It was mainly because killing her former employers for Cass was supposed to symbolize a new start for her, where she didn’t have to live in her own damn shadow anymore. Stupid of her to assume she wouldn’t have to go back, especially with all of her unfinished business here.

The Silver Rush sign had been taken down, but not replaced. Making the Atomic Wrangler sign stand out like a sore thumb against the dark buildings. The companions could hear the chaos from inside, whoever could afford to drink and gamble but not enough to get past the securitrons, they would go here.  

A blast of the air conditioning from inside hit them once they opened the door, when they stepped in, the first thing they smelled was Vegas. Booze, body odor, cigarette smoke, and sex; which was strong enough to make Elest’s eyes water. She patted Boone on the back, giving him a gentle smile before moving off on her own. Rex made a split second decision to stay by Boone’s side, watching her go towards the counter.

James Garret looked up from the customers occupying the stools to see her coming. He had probably been expecting to see her coming through the crowd one of these days. James smiled big, a chuckle falling from his mouth, “here comes trouble, eh? Been a long time since I’ve seen that face.”

Elest rolled her eyes, placing her hands on the surface of the counter. “Place doesn’t look too much like a ghost town anymore. Now Hadrian has a crowd to make an ass of himself in front of.” She stated, referring to the ghoul in a business suit standing on stage across the room. James smirked coyly, pleased with the fact that she noticed how well the place had picked up.

“I’d say it’s all thanks to you and your cowgirl friend. Is she still with you?”

The question didn’t hurt, but it didn’t settle well either. It was a reminder of how much things had changed. “You wish.” Elest flattened down the short hairs over her forehead.

It was hard to ignore the small downturn on his lips, “so what do you need? A drink? Party favor? On the house.”

Her heart fluttered at the mentioning of a party favor, knowing he probably had a few containers of Jet just waiting for her in stock. It must have taken all of her willpower to shake her head. “No, none of that. I’m just here for the favor you owe me.”

His look of amusement faltered, but not enough to be called a frown. Elest could guess that he was hoping his talk of them owing her something would have been long forgotten, under the consideration that it had been a year since the Garret twins promised her a favor. “Yeah, alright kid. Just talk quietly.” He grabbed a whiskey bottle from the bar to pour some of its contents into a shot glass, he moved it towards one of the locals sitting on the stools and lowered his voice. “So what is it? Want someone dead?”

 

“No, nothing like that.” Though, when he said it a few people definitely came to mind. She tapped her fingers on the counter, glancing over her shoulder to see if she could spot Boone anywhere. “Caps. And a shitload of them.”

 

“Great, well you better not waste them. This is a one-time thing, you know.”

 

Like she didn’t already know that. Elest nodded in agreement. “I’m not just talking five hundred caps. I’m talking over a thousand, you get me? You owe me.”

 

Elest never sounded intimidating, and perhaps never would. But what she had done to the Silver Rush with Cass at her side must have created a big impact on James. He probably thought that she could take out a super mutant by just looking at it, which was far from the truth, but she wasn’t going to correct him. “I should have been expecting that. So, you’re trying to get into New Vegas?”

 

“Who do you think I am?” She didn’t want to explain it all, especially to someone like him, but leaving the man with nothing but his seemingly fucked up imagination couldn’t have been a good thing either. James nodded slowly, tugging at the collar of his suit.

 

“Right, right. I’ll be right back. Come around to the staircase, alright? It would be bad for business if people started suspecting-”

 

Didn’t want anyone suspecting she was being paid off for some nasty business is what he was trying to say. It was Freeside after all, so she didn’t know why he cared so much. Elest could only suppose that a man all about reputation would want to keep his out of the mud. “Fine.”

 

With her word of agreement, he was off, turning his back to her and sauntering back into the kitchen, closing the door behind him.

 

She straightened up, looking over her shoulder to see Boone had his eyes on her from where he stood beside the slot machines, Elest wouldn’t be surprised to find that he was guarding her from a few meters away. Giving him a two-handed, and quite fatuous thumbs up, he took it as an invitation to come forward.

 

“Hey, you should really take off that beret of yours,” Elest said once he was close enough to hear her, the courier reached her hand out to rest it on top of Rexy’s brain case. “I don’t want anyone to try and hurt you because of it. Especially with your arm all-”

 

"No one will, I'm sure of it.” He interrupted before she could voice her concerns, Boone paused prior to continuing. “So, what’d he say?”

 

She should have been expecting him to change the conversation. Pulling her eyes from the first recon beret on his head, Elest sighed. “He told me to come around into the back, because he doesn’t want anyone to get the wrong impression. So give me a second.”

 

Just the look on Boone’s face let her know that he didn’t like the idea. It wasn’t difficult for her to guess that the man didn’t trust James Garret, for whatever reason it could be. “I’ll be right behind you then.”

 

Damn, she knew she was a hot mess and presumably a hopeless cause, but you could give James Garret two nickels for a dime and he’d think he was rich. If Boone thought she didn’t have a chance against the bartender then she really was fucked. Though Elest found that when it came to Boone, there was no negotiating over her safety. You would think she paid him an arm and leg to watch her ass.

 

Nonetheless, everything had gone off without a hitch. James had been waiting for her in front of the staircase that led up into the rental bedrooms. Elest could only assume that he hadn’t been expecting the large brute at her side, nor the robotic dog tailing them, but he tried to keep his attention solely on her.

 

“The payment is in whatever I could get my hands on. About six hundred caps, some NCR and pre-war cash, as well as Legion currency.”

 

Like Elest would even want to touch an Aureus or Denarius with a ten-foot stick. He handed her the bag, which appeared to be a children’s elementary school backpack. She took it warily, making a move to open it to stare down at what was owed, but Boone took it from her hands.

 

Elest looked over her shoulder to glare at the man, he was acting like there would be a fucking time bomb in the bag. What she could see from where she was standing in front of Boone; It definitely looked like a shitload of cash. Biting back some sardonic comment at her companion, she turned back to James.

 

“You think Francine will be bothered?” The woman was in charge of the financial and business, after all, James shook his head gladly.

 

“Not at all.” She somehow knew that was a false statement. “Just don’t get yourself robbed out there.”

 

* * *

 

“It’s surprisingly light,” Elest commented, a gentle smile on her mouth. She looked up at Boone who kept his eyes forward, despite her attempt at conversation, probably leering in the shadows and being on the lookout for any enemies. “Especially since half of it is bottle caps. Maybe I’ve just gotten beefier, you know? I bet I could beat you in arm wrestling right now.”

 

Idle chatter, that was good, or was it a blatant sign that she was nervous? Elest couldn’t remember, but she was still relieved. This was a step forward, a step that she never thought she’d ever take. There was just over one thousand five hundred in various currencies strung over her shoulder in a kiddy knapsack with washed out rainbows and pink unicorns on it. Leas to say, Elest felt like she had won. Whatever game it was this time, she had won. With this cash, she could get Rexy a new brain, pay for that damn surgery, and then get far. . . _Far away_ from the Legion.

 

Please, let it be that easy. It’s all she wanted anymore. She couldn’t let hopelessness dull down her solace. “I didn’t want to spend any cash for a room at the casino, not because I want to leave right away, but because Julie Farkas had said I’m welcome there anytime. It’s safer there than a hotel room anyway.”

 

“It was a good call. The last thing we should do right now is waste money.” He replied, Rexy released a guttural growl, which must have been a warning for nearby foes that she couldn’t see. If they were anywhere near the King’s School of Impersonation, then the companions passed through the door to outer Freeside before anything could be done about Rex’s reaction. “I’ll be taking the first watch.”

 

“There won't be any first watch, or second watch. The Followers are good people, I would know.” Her fingers snaked around her wrist to click the flashlight button on her Pipboy, lighting up the road in front of them. “So just focus on getting some sleep.”

 

He didn’t respond. With every step closer to the stone walls of the old Mormon fort, Elest could feel her heart clenching in her chest. Her fingers clenched the collar of her flannel in hopes that it would help her focus on anything else. If she ran into Arcade once they were inside, what would she even say? That she nearly died? Six times?

 

The doors looked taller since the last time she saw them, and stepping onto the pavement, walking underneath the broken streetlight, Elest almost needed to prepare. Even though it was arguably the safest place in Freeside, it still made her chest heavy, like a dozen cinder blocks were crushing her rib cage.

 

She grabbed the levers of the reinforced door and pulled it open. The three companions walked in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, not really a cliffhanger but also at the same time a mean ass place to leave off. I'm not sure if The Way Of The Wind or this story will have an update first, so just live with anticipation I suppose my dudes.
> 
> Stay tuned! Arcade will show his kind and sarcastic face in the chapters to come.


	9. That's A Hard Dog To Keep On The Porch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone and happy new year! I hope you all had happy holidays! This chapter is a long time coming and might be the turning point for these characters, it's relatively tame, so enjoy!

When the sun goes down something can either look mysterious or scary, or both depending on the type of person you are. But the Mormon Fort? It always looked calm and peaceful. Being the first place in a long time she had been in that actually made her feel safe, allowing Elest to believe that she would wake up exactly where she fell asleep the night before.

Apart from the sounds outside of the fortress, everything here was quiet. People slept with ease, night owls continued with their work, and the Followers guards kept a good watch on the gates. The place had its own little bubble of tranquility. It was no wonder why everyone loved the Followers, even the Legion.

Rexy barked, like a rooster seven hours too early. “You can just find an empty tent, and we're golden. They won’t mind.” Elest spoke, her dog ran ahead to sniff at the chair where Beatrix Russell usually sat before roaming around the area. Elest looked over at her companion. “I have to do something first, all right? I’ll catch up with you in a second.”

“Don’t be gone long,” Boone spoke, he must've been tired, given that he didn’t put any regulations into place. Elest adjusted the weight of the duffle bag on her shoulder, the strap was digging into her skin and making a dull ache soar through her upper body, and the kiddy backpack sagging down her spine wasn’t any more comfortable. Boone must have noticed her wince at the pressure.

“I’ll take those.” He moved to pull the carryall from her grasp, and the book bag from her back. Her lips parted in concern, eyes moving from the bags and to the bandage around his bicep. The material had a large red spot from where blood had leaked through.

“You probably shouldn’t be doing any heavy lifting with that.” Elest reminded as a matter-of-fact, he toughened his hold on the strap. He wouldn’t let her carry her own shit after that Legion mongrel tried to make a dinner out of her forearm, but here he was trying to be her pack brahmin a couple hours after nearly losing his own limb. Even though he wouldn’t look through them, Elest couldn’t help but feel her gut twist at the idea of leaving all of her personal belongings within his reach. Thankfully the letter from Vulpes was on her person, but her family portrait was still just a buckle away.

“We’re in a fort full of doctors and scientist, but you’re right, I might be dead by tomorrow.”

“Is that sarcasm?” Elest scoffed, shaking it off, she moved in closer to unzip her duffel bag and rummaged around until she found the Science textbook she had taken from Nipton Town Hall. “Whatever, just find a place to rest, alright?”

He nodded, “right.”

If it was one thing that this place never had on hand it was comfortable beds, but it was hard to complain when everything else here was as comforting as a mother’s hug. When he took off, Rex caught sight of Boone and immediately began to follow after him to help in his search for a good place to sleep.

It was nice to see Rex getting along with him. Elest remembered how difficult it had been for the dog to warm up to her, especially with her insatiable love for cowboy hats. She always had a deep-rooted fear of animals because of the Legion's desire to turn every one of them into bloodthirsty battle cattle, the tinted of a red bull on his mechanical torso didn’t help much either. Rexy must’ve caught onto that, which stunted the progress of their relationship for weeks. She wouldn’t want him to have that issue with Boone, and thankfully, the beret wasn’t much of a problem anymore.

There were three more tents set up since the last time she had been here. So, nine in all. It wouldn’t be too difficult to hunt down Arcade. Unless he had left to go on an adventure with the handsome bachelor he had been searching for. The idea was entertaining, but she wondered if he would up and leave with her again if she gave him the chance.

Elest wondered if he maintained the same tent he did the last time they were here. She walked ahead, hands picking at the edge of the textbook as a nervous tick. Maybe it would be better if he was just gone, and that argument they had was the ending of a chapter in their story together that she would just have to regret for the rest of her miserable life. Maybe that was better than being the reason he died at the hands of Caesar's Legion

It also wouldn’t be the first time she was forced to leave the ones she cared for behind.

The tents just straight ahead were usually the ones held by doctors, scientists, and guards who were off duty. If she could remember right, that was where Arcade would produce his medical theories and read ominous literature whenever he had the time. The second one in the line of three, Elest peeped her head in.

The smell of old paper and concentrated fruit juice was hardly able to be explained, the only thing being on his metal desk was unmarked holotapes and documents clasped to a clipboard. Arcade’s blond head was squished against the upturned edges of the pages, but he looked comfortable, especially for someone who had passed out doing late night research.

The sight was. . . Reassuring. It was good to know that Arcade was still here, still  _ alive _ , and able to sleep at night, as that was more than she could’ve asked for. Fucking chowderhead, she had never known him to work until he passed out. Maybe this was a sign of change, that their fallout had affected his good character and routine.

He always breathed rather loud when he slept, and it sounded stupid when she said that she missed falling asleep to it since it was rather annoying at the time. Elest smiled dejectedly and stepped closer to him. Unless his sleeping style changed along with his routine, then he was still a heavy sleeper.

Elest gently pulled the clipboard from underneath his cheek and set it to the side, the odd leveling of his head would've made him wake up sore, even though he would anyway with the position he was in. She set **“The Big Book Of Science”** underneath the clipboard.

Elest knew she would have to see him in the morning before they left. 

* * *

  
  


She found Boone in the third tent on the right. The Followers must have gotten a bit more cash from their transactions with the Garrett twins; Elest didn’t remember them having this many bed frames that weren’t just for the doctors. Boone was already settled on one of the mattresses, the one closest to the wall with her duffel bag hanging off of the bottom post.

“Where’s the money?” Her heart skipped a beat and a pang of fear ran through her.

“It’s right here.” He lifted his back to show that he had been resting on it. Elest let go of a sigh, of course. It would be almost impossible for them to lose a vibrant colored kid’s backpack.

He settled back on the bag, moving his arm and his face contorted with discomfort. At the sight, Elest knew what he was doing. The whole “Stubbornly trying to hide how much pain I am in” that she had done when the Med-x wore off for that mongrel dog bite when they were at the Mojave Outpost. “You should get that checked out and rebandaged while we’re still surrounded by qualified doctors.” She reminded again, the discoloration on his gauze was starting to make her feel nervous.

Boone nodded, “I’ll make sure to do it tomorrow before we leave.”

“Good.” Elest smiled. Before they leave, fuck, she really hated the sound of that. It had been a long time since she felt this safe in a place with more people than she could count on her fingers, especially under these circumstances. And going back out there didn’t sound too hot with a man she was terrified of trying to hunt her down. The best place for her to be right now was either in Freeside with the Followers, or as far away from the Mojave as possible. No gray area.

Damn Rexy and his neural degeneration or whatever the fuck Doctor Henry had said it was, and fuck her personal feelings. If it was all up to her then she would have either left the desert as soon as she saw the Legion in Nipton, or took refuge here with Arcade until her threats faded away.

She sat down on the bed closest to Boone’s. Rexy kept himself busy by smelling around at the pallets and rolling on the ground. “You alright?” She asked. Something that caught him off guard. “You haven’t been talking much.”

Well, he never did, but this was a whole new measure of strained silence. He shifted, pulling something out from his back pocket. “Don’t know, I’ve just been thinking. That attack with the Legion earlier is full proof that they are moving in on NCR territory. So, to me, it sounds like there’s gonna be an all-out war with the Legion soon. Especially if they go for the dam.”  

“Which they will if Caesar’s out there giving orders.” She crossed her legs and propped her arms behind her. Boone nodded in response, straightening his legs out in front of him.  

“It just makes me wonder whether I should’ve re-listed after all.”

“You can still just fight from the guidelines, you know. You don’t have to let the republic give you orders.” And in other words, he could just keep doing exactly what he had been doing since they joined up together. Not that it was what she wanted to do, to go back out there and take the fight to Legion. But she couldn’t let him leave her either, not yet.

Boone pressed his hands against his mouth. “That was the idea, but it still makes me think.”

Rexy whined in complaint, his paws scraping at the exposed ground right alongside her duffel bag. His snout was trying to dig inside of the compartment, it reminded her how hungry her furry companion probably was. “Shit! Sorry bud, I completely forgot about your dinner.”

If he could talk, Elest was sure that he would have responded with something completely sarcastic. She got up from the bed and Boone leaned back to give his shoulders and spine some well needed rest. Rex moved away when she kneeled down to open up her bag, searching through all the clutter for the containers she had stuffed in here.

Every time she looked inside this bag she always told herself that she would clean it out at some point, but Elest was starting to think that she never would. The container she found looked a bit cloudy from the meat inside, but when it was opened the smell didn’t smack her in the face, hopefully, that meant it was still good. Rex jumped forward, whining in anticipation until she set it down in front of him.

“Are you wanting anything to eat?” Elest asked suddenly, listening to Rexy knaw down on the grey meat inside the container. “I only have-”

Looking over her shoulder, she saw that Boone didn’t even have his eyes open. It was obvious that he hadn’t fallen asleep yet, under the consideration that not even a minute or two ago they had been talking. Elest decided against bothering him. It had been a long day, and if she was him then Elest would’ve taken advantage of an empty bed, that’s if she could find it in her to get some rest.

Grabbing a stray Buffalo Gourd Seed that was close to the bottom of her bag, the Vance family portrait, and her final container of Jet, Elest settled herself on the bed that mirrored Boone’s. If she was going to get a night’s rest after what had happened today it was going to take much more than some sturdy walls and gourd seed to ease her off into sleep.

Not that it was going to be a good night sleep. Because that same dream was always there to fuck her up. The same  _ fucking dream- _

Bringing her knees to her chest, she smacked the shell of the gourd seed on the bedpost to crack it and dug her fingers into the fruit. There was obvious frustration in her actions, hell, everything was closing in on her and she was still in the Mojave with her thumbs in a fruit’s pulp with the exact same mission she had a week ago.

Her throat felt full, and suddenly she didn’t want to eat. She wanted something but nothing that was  _ food _ . Elest was starting to feel imaginary hands around her throat that didn’t belong to her and it was beginning to make her feel sick. Being inside tents always did that to her, a crude way of housing that always reminded Elest of the Legion, even if she had grown up getting medical checkups inside of portable shelter, it still gave her the chills.  

She retracted her fingers from the pulp and let go of a aggravated sigh, setting the fruit on the mattress, she picked up the Vance family photo. The glass was stabbing her outer thigh to remind her it was there. She was beginning to hate looking at it. It helped clear fuzzy memories, but it was just a constant reminder of how much everything had changed. Most of it she could hardly remember without having to strain her head.

Looking at her sister, she felt her stomach twist in discomfort. What would be the chances that Celestine escaped just as she did? Probably just as slim as the chances of Elest escaping the Mojave with her life. Would she even be alive at this point? Her sister would be twenty-one now, and the life expectancy of a Legion woman wasn’t very high. Celest could be like their mother, dead, long been dead with Rowena being the only survivor. That or her sister was in Flagstaff with a small army of children.

Either way, they were both alone and too far away from each other for it to matter whether or not the other was still living and breathing.

There was a big day ahead of them, more or less a big day ahead of Rexy who had finished wolfing down his dinner and was too exhausted to hop up on any of the beds, deciding to just sleep on the ground. Elest cradled the photograph against her chest. The glass bit into her skin through her flannel. She couldn’t think. She didn’t know what they were going to do from now on, obviously, Rex would have to get repaired, and she would have to talk to Arcade, but it was unclear what she would do after that.

It was a split second decision that Elest made to grab her canister of Jet and move it to her mouth. She pressed on the overcap and inhaled deeply. It seemed to be the most she could do in this situation, it wasn’t like she could go anywhere else but down. Nonetheless, that wouldn’t matter if she couldn’t tell which way was up.

Elest slumped onto her side and closed her eyes. The empty inhaler rolled out of her hand.

The next morning was cloudy and colder than it had been all week. A damn good day to get to the place you needed to go before the sun went down. Elest slept like a pack brahmin after a long day of traveling, her head pounded when she awoke and her throat felt full, other than that the afterglow from the Jet still remained. Her vision hazed and everything was softer than usual.

A wet tongue slid across her face, the short strands of hair over her face flew back to expose the two bullet scars on her forehead, “Rex,” she groaned, shoving back her dog. She stretched out her legs that were cramped and stiff against her chest. Disoriented, she felt around the bed.

“Still high?”

“No.” Elest huffed. Glancing up, she saw Boone’s hand held in front of her. She blinked, clearing the fog from her vision and spotting her family portrait in his hands. Elest sat up, swinging her legs over the bed and snatching it out of his grip.

“It was on the ground. You probably knocked it off when you were sleeping.”

Of course she did. Looking at the front of it, she could see one of the glass shards were missing, possibly from the impact of it falling off the bed. “Yeah, thanks.” There was a big chance that he had seen the photo, and it must have been the stupor state she was in but she couldn’t find it in her to care. “Are you going to get that wound checked out?”

“In a few minutes, I should get everything ready first if we are going to be leaving soon.”

Damn, hopefully her head would clear in a few minutes or less. Arcade would wring her neck if he found out she was using again, especially after all the torment it put both of them through. Getting her off of it more than once and having to deal with her withdrawals, Elest was surprised he hadn’t left sooner. “Then you better hurry up, big guy. If it gets infected then we’re chopping the whole thing off.”

With nothing more than a humored “Hmph,” as his response, Boone tightened the belt around his waist. “Anyway,” Elest continued, slowly pulling herself from the mattress to keep from seeing stars. She turned on her Pipboy to check the time.  **9 AM** . Arcade would be up, surely.

“I’ll be right back. Come on Rexy.”

At the sound of his name, the dog perked up from where he laid on top of her duffel bag. His eyes seemed a tad more watery and his face was pulled down from sickness. Even so, he still eagerly obeyed her command, but Elest could tell that something had changed in him, maybe for the worse this time. He had lived this long, therefore Elest tried not to let it get to her. It wouldn’t be good for any of them if she started worrying.

“Hold up,” Boone called out before she had completely left the tent. She touched the material to peek her head back in, showing that she was listening. “That was your last one, right?”

“Last of what?”

“Jet.”

She paused, biting the inside of her cheek, it was, and that hadn’t completely settled in yet. Elest had been using more regularly, especially since she was shot in the head, so surely she would have some amount of withdrawal this time. “Yeah,” she replied, trying to hide her disappointment, “it was.”

“Good.” Boone nodded and turned his head back forward.

 

* * *

 

Even with a covered sky, the clouds were bright to the limit where she had to squint whenever her eyes moved high up. Elest flattened her bangs, watching Rex as he ran ahead. She was sure that he remembered the Mormon fort since they spent enough nights here for him to recognize the scent from a mile away. Smelling at the foot of the large flagpole, he lifted his leg to mark it as his territory.

“Yeah, nice Rexy.” Elest shook her head, watching her furry companion look up at her with his beady eyes. She fumbled with her hands, the nerves getting the best of her as she forced herself to move towards Arcade’s tent. It was a known fact that the grumpy doctor didn’t like too many people around, so it wouldn’t shock her to find he hadn’t left his comfort zone. As soon as Rexy was done relieving himself all over the flagpole, he picked up the scent of their late traveling buddy and made a complete turn to sniff the ground and follow after her, scampering past her and to the entrance of his tent.

Well, that was a relief, Rex would save her the trouble of being the first to say hello. The dog would make it clear that she was here so when they were in front of each other it wouldn’t be a game of silence, wondering who was going to say ciao first.

With her heart flipping inside her chest, Elest hoped it was from the anticipation of finally being able to see her best pal since before she took a couple bullets in the noggin, and not because she was scared he was still angry with her. Elest knew she wasn’t always the greatest company, and Arcade usually got the worst of it. What didn’t make it better was the fucked up mentality inside her that wanted him to hate her, just so there would be a greater chance of Lucius and Vulpes leaving him alone.

Timidly, she walked closer to the tent opening, hearing Rexy who was inside whimpering and wagging his tail so vigorously that it kept slapping against the side of the desk. When she stuck her head in, she saw Arcade doubled over in his swirl chair with his hands scratching underneath her dog’s chin, Rexy’s paws were in his lap.

Elest just stared at him, crossing her left arm over her stomach to keep from playing with her fingers. Once he looked up at her, she noticed the faint circles underneath his eyes that his rimmed glasses were trying to hide, and his skin was a shade lighter, but that was never a shock giving the amount of time he spent indoors. He also looked a bit thinner than she last remembered.

“Well,” he spoke, his expression fighting to stay neutral. “You’re alive.”

Odd how she didn’t know whether or not his comment made her want to cry or let go of a huge smile. Elest was just so glad to see him after everything that had happened since then and now, how much more pain and danger she was in now that he wasn’t at her side, seeing him again, even with how they had last left off, it was the best thing to come out of this hell of a week.

“Hardly.” She muttered, laughing to herself. A moment of silence took over them, making her wonder whether or not he was still holding everything she said to him against her. Elest dropped her hands to her side, “I came back to get some cash to get Rex a brain for his surgery.”

With the words, he scratched behind Rexy’s ear one more time before gently moving his paws from the seat. “Yeah, well, it’s good to see he’s still up and walking. It’s been a few months since I’ve seen him.”

_ Or me, for that matter. _ Elest knew that was on his mind one way or another, their abrupt falling out: which was just them a couple of escapees turning on each other for the most fatuous reasons. Her head lowered to stare down at her feet, Rexy was still begging at Arcade’s boots for his attention, nudging his head against the hem of his lab coat. “Listen,” she started out, her voice was already wavering. “I’m sorry for wh-”

“El, seriously, you don’t have to. I get it. You didn’t need me to watch your back anymore.”

“No, that’s not true.” She retaliated, her throat starting to fill up with emotion, the irritation at herself for putting herself in the middle of all this was growing much more intense. “It was bullshit. You were right about there being something sketchy about that delivery job, and you were right about me not being safe on my own.”

He pushed the bridge of his glasses up with a deep sigh. The look on his face told her that he damn well knew this was going to happen, he had even told her that, and she was the one who didn’t listen. “So, I guess that means it was you. . . In Goodsprings.”

Saying it like that made it feel like if she were to agree then he would scold her like a disapproving parent, it wouldn’t be the first time he tried doing that. Elest’s hand fell from her torso, she nodded her head. “Yeah, it was.”

Her hands felt like dead weight, and instead of just explaining it further, she moved to brush her hair back, revealing the two red blotches centered above her brows. Arcade’s usual derisive look turned into something more dour, he pulled himself from his chair with his shoulders stiffening underneath his lab coat.

Elest wasn’t sure what she saw behind his glasses, at first she was sure it was genuine concern until he got closer, seeing that his face was heavy with guilt. “It looks like it’s still healing,” he said with his tone quiet, he resisted the urge to reach out and touch it. Rexy whined impatiently, plopping himself down on the ground. “Ah shit, Elest I’m sorry.”

“Yeah well, I guess you could say I got my just desserts.” Trying to make light of the situation only seemed to make Arcade’s eyebrows pinch together. Her forced smile dropped once she realized he wasn’t going to laugh at her crude humor. “It’s payback, you know, for being an asshole.”

“ _ Nisi paria non pugnan _ .” A flicker of discomfort flashed across her face at the use of Latin, but she did nothing but crossed her arms. “We got into an argument, that doesn’t mean you deserve to-”

-Didn’t deserve to die. Arcade hadn’t finished the sentence, but Elest knew that’s what he meant. She did that a lot, with any slight inconvenience on her part -she’ll let herself believe that her punishment had to be bigger than her bad deed to even it all out.

“They ambushed me at the water tower, the people who shot me.” She explained, realizing he was too sensitive to ask her himself. “I don’t remember much, but it was two Khans and some pansy in a checkered coat. When I woke up I was going to find them, and I  _ actually  _ tried but. . .”

> **“-If any of her profligate friends dare to oppose you, kill them.”**

Fuck, Elest had to tell him. Out of all the people she could  _ ever  _ tell this to, the first one had to be him. She had been kicking to explain everything that had happened to her while they were apart, but something held her back. Was it fear? Judgment? Or that him already knowing what he did about her made him a sentimental target to Lucius or Vulpes and she was making it worse every time she confided in him? It was a difficult question.

“-But something happened.”

“I can tell.” Of course he would, his eyeglasses were almost glinting. “You have a bandage around your arm and leg. I know you’re a klutz, but this is different. So what the hell is going on?”

He  _ had  _ noticed. That was either heart-warming or dangerously persistent of him, considering his eyesight was shit. Elest’s jaw began to tremble from nerves with her eyes darting around the room to avoid looking directly at him.

And so she told him, all of it came spilling out of her like a clogged water pipe finally being relieved of all the shit blocking its source. Elest found herself surprised that she didn’t end up blubbering through her explanation. As soon as she got to the happenings of the day before with her and Boone being attacked by the Legion assassins, the words became too much and her throat started to swell up. She reached into her shirt to pull out the note she stuck in there the day before; The one that had been haunting her thoughts ever since she read what Vulpes wrote inside.

Arcade stared at the red blotch on the right corner of it. He’d find out that it wasn’t blood sooner than later. “Read it,” Elest spoke, interrupting his silence. “The decanus had it in his pocket.”  

He must have had a thousand questions on his mind, given the look overtaking his face. Once he didn’t grab the letter immediately, she took his hand to stuff it between his fingers. Arcade rolled back his shoulders, released a deep sigh, and unfolded the letter. His eyebrows furrowed as soon as he saw what the red marking on the corner had been. Maybe he had the same sinking feeling in his gut that she had when she first saw it.

“I knew that he was after me, but I thought he sent them just out to kill me and save Lucius the trouble.” Filling the air with her nervous chatter did nothing to aid in relieving the unease inside of the tent. It was like all of the humidity in the desert was sucked straight into his quarters. He took a deep breath, his fingers were clenching around the paper like he wanted to crumble it up, but with enough self-control, he handed it back with only the creases of his fingers on the sides. “So, what do you think?” She asked.

“What do _I_ think?” He huffed, Elest had never burdened him with too many stories of what Vulpes Inculta had done to her, but just enough that he knew how horrible this message was to her. “I think he’s a deranged sadist that will stop at nothing to prove he’s a deranged sadist, but you already knew that, and I don’t know how my opinion could be helpful right now.”

“Well, you’ve always been helpful in the past.”

“Yeah, I was helpful then because I deal with junkies and the mentally insane on the daily, but nothing like this!”

“I know.” Elest started to whisper, if she spoke any louder then her throat would close up and she’d start to cry. This was hopeless. Elest already knew what she had to do, she had to leave the Mojave as soon as possible. But with Rexy and all of the unfinished business she carried around with several different people, leaving seemed just as impossible as staying. “You know I wouldn’t be asking if I wasn’t serious.”

“Well, you can’t stay here, that’s for sure.” Even though she knew that was the obvious answer, her heart still sunk when he said it. “The Mojave is the most dangerous place for you to be in right now. Maybe even worse than Arizona.”

_ Maybe even worse than Arizona.  _ That was like saying a Radroach was more threatening than a Yao guai, but he did have a point. Caesar was in the Mojave, as well as Lucius, Vulpes and maybe even the Legate Lanius, if she remembered his name correctly. They were treating the Fortification Hill like it was Flagstaff, trying to leave their nasty imprint on every grain of sand they walked on.

“I know I have to leave, it’s just. . .”  _ I don’t want to. _ It was that easy. The last time she left the Mojave it was arguably the worst time of her life. Something in her brain insisted that if she left again it would come with great consequences. ”Fine, did you get my book?”

Hopefully, he would appreciate the quick change of conversation, and not judge her too much for not wanting to talk about her life that was spiraling down the toilet at an alarming pace. He sighed, “what book?”

“It’s on your desk, by the clipboard. I found it in Nipton, and I thought of you.”

“If you thought of me, then it’s probably a self-help book.”

Elest cracked a soft smile, somehow he still managed to humor her in the worst of times. “No, it’s a science book, I thought you’d like it.”

There was a moment of silence. Elest couldn’t believe that she found herself worried that he wouldn’t forgive her for a disagreement they had gotten in months ago. Arcade was never one to hold pitiful grudges, especially now when her life was in jeopardy, but still, the both of them had said some nasty things to each other, all over a job that he ended up being right about. He moved his attention to his desk, sliding a piece of paper off the textbook. In an aggressive font, it said  “The Big Book Of Science”, with different versions of the same orbital symbol. “Oh. . . A good amount of these books were destroyed when the bombs dropped, so thanks, I guess.”

“No problem, I know you’ll just pick it apart anyway.” She sighed, fixing her posture to appear more poised. Rexy must have grown tired of sitting around during their conversation and wandered out of the tent without her knowledge. “Listen, I have to go. Rex gets restless when we stay in one place for too long, you know how he is.”

Arcade fixed the collar-line of his lab coat, Elest wondered why he still insisted to wear it in such heat. His shoulders dropped with his exhale. “Right, sorry, I forgot you have more important places to be, oh, not that I have any issue with it.”

He had that look in his eyes, the one that he had right before he had said that he was leaving back on the Wolfhorn Ranch, but the difference was that she was the one leaving now, without any resentment involved. “You can come with me, you know. Rexy really misses you.”  

Rex wasn’t the only one who missed him if she was going to be honest. She did as well, including the sarcastic comments he’d make while they ventured through the Mojave on her courier runs, not to mention that he was the only one who knew her for who she was, and even though it drove her up the fucking wall, she missed how much he cared about keeping her off Jet.

But  _ sure, _ Rexy was the one who missed him.

“Look, El, there are worse things than heading out there into the world with a former soldier, a robotic dog, and whatever label you want me to use for you, but-”

“I get it.” She interrupted. His mouth clamped shut, maybe it was the dejected tone to her voice that stopped him from continuing. Elest shook her head. “You have your hands full with the followers, and hanging around me with everything going on isn’t exactly peachy.” That was an understatement, considering if Vulpes cared enough, he would find a way to abduct the self-loathing scientist as a way to force her hand. Making her decide who she valued more: herself or Arcade, and that was an easy answer.

If they were normal then perhaps they would have gone through the trouble of giving each other a hug, but they weren’t. Elest fanned herself with the hem of her flannel, she could feel beads of sweat gathering on her stomach. “Thanks for everything, and I meant that.”

“Is this you trying to say goodbye?” He asked; Elest lowered her head, it was hard to fight against her doubt, she supposed this was her final farewell to Arcade. If she came back to see him after Rexy’s surgery before disappearing from the desert, then she would have a greater chance of being apprehended. 

“I guess so,” she replied, stricken.

 

“Then. . . Don’t die out there, okay?”

It was hard to believe that those were the last words they would ever say to each other, but given the circumstances, it was appropriate. Elest walked out of his tent with her shoulders feeling tight, and with things still feeling unfinished between them. If they had never gotten in that argument a few months ago, Arcade would’ve fought tooth and nail to make things work, even if that meant they might die together.

Boone was inside the first tent on her right, an older woman in a lab coat was wrapping gauze around his bicep to cover the bullet wound he acquired yesterday. He didn’t appear to be in any sort of pain, perhaps the doctor gave him a dose of Med-X before giving him medical attention.

Rexy was sniffing suspiciously at her duffel bag that sat at the heel of his boots, maybe the dog could smell the lingering scent of the meat that had been in there all week. She really needed to clean that bag out. “Everything going okay?” She asked, trying to sound cheery and unbothered.

He nodded, “It was a bit inflamed. You didn’t wash your tongs before taking the bullet out.”

“I told you I wasn’t a doctor.” She crossed her arms, leaning down to Rex’s level, “hey buddy.” She whispered gently, scratching him behind the ears. “We’re going to get you fixed in a couple of days! No more headaches, heat flashes, all that jazz. Aren’t you excited?” Her cooing made his tail wag in response.

She would sure as hell be excited. “We can check at Mick and Ralph’s to see if they have a set of sunglasses that fit you.” The fact that she wanted to stay in Freeside as long as possible before getting on the roads again just proved how scared she was. Crime was more common than shitting and pissing in Freeside, but as far as she knew it didn’t have Caesar’s Legion. That was enough for her. “You could also use a change of clothes.”

“Yeah, sure.” He didn’t say much, but he did look a lot better than he did last night and twenty minutes ago. His arm must have been bothering him a lot more than he let on.

Elest stayed on the floor with Rexy in silence, grabbing her duffel bag that was at Boone’s feet.

“I think that’s all we’re going to be able to do with this. The infection was easily stopped, but I advise that you let it heal before you do any heavy lifting.” With the doctor’s words, Elest resisted the urge to tell Boone she told him so. He looked frustrated enough with the new restriction, given how much he relied on his strength and abilities, it was like putting a deathclaw on a vegan diet.

“Looks like I’m the pack brahmin for the time being then.” She mused, planting her hands behind her so she could lounge on the ground. The doctor smiled gently at her comment, catching her eye just for a second. She looked a bit familiar, possibly one of the doctors that had been here a while back when she was getting treatment.

The woman nodded in greeting, “glad to have you back, Elest.”

_ Ah shit _ . Elest paid a quick glance in Boone’s direction to see if he heard that. “Yeah, thanks.” She muttered, good to know that she had stayed here so long that even the common doctor knew her by name. “Tell Julie I said hi.”

“Someone you know?” Boone asked once the doctor left the tent.

Elest began to lift her duffel bag from the ground, causing Rex to whine in complaint. “No, she probably just recognize me since I was here so long.” That left a lot to question, and it would do the both of them a lot better if he just didn’t know how long she actually stayed here, especially when they got into the nitty-gritty of why. “I also walk around with Rexy, so I’m not exactly easy to miss.”

Well, Rex came into the picture only a couple weeks before she stopped working for the Silver Rush, but she didn’t need to mention that to him. The story of how she got Rexy would be for another time, he had said that he didn’t want to swap war stories until she made good on her promise of “helping him fight the Legion”. So, it was safe to say he wouldn’t know any more than her jonesing for Jet and her bad timing.

Pulling herself from the floor, Elest brought her sleeve to her nose to give it a good sniff, it didn’t smell revolting, but she’d bet her life that in a few days it would smell like a mole rat’s nest. Not that she had much of a choice when she had never actually seen a working washing machine, or been by a body of water long enough to wash her clothes in it.

She tossed her duffel bag over her shoulder with a deep exhale, “you ready to head out?” She asked, adjusting the strap so it didn’t bite into her shoulder. Boone shifted, moving his fingers to the fresh bandage around his bicep to check its fitting. He nodded.

“We’re going to stop at Mick and Ralph’s first, I feel like I’m carrying around a bag of bricks.” He pulled himself from the mattress, and even after the doctor’s limitation, he moved to grab ahold of the kiddy backpack that laid behind him.

“Are you wanting to carry this?” He asked. A trick question, given that she didn’t want to but also had to. Elest reached out to take it from his hands, making herself top heavy when she threw one of the straps over her shoulder to join her duffel bag.

She was starting to realize how much she really did  _ not  _ want to leave the Mormon Fort.

After seeing Arcade, it reminded her of the more simpler times. Maybe she did actually prefer the withdrawals instead of the looming threat of Legion enslavement, as much as her twenty-one-year-old self would dramatically beg to differ. Elest and Boone left the tent, both exhausted even if the both of them got a good night’s rest. Rexy lagged behind them, quieter and less curious than she was used to, usually, she would lose him in these walls, finding him bothering some poor researcher in one of the tents, much like he did with Arcade. Elest didn’t want to worry herself, but it was hard not to, especially since things with him could only get worse from here.  

They reached the doors leading out into Freeside, and she felt her heart clench in her chest. Paying one last look to the place behind her, someone caught her eye.

 

Well, a struggling someone.

 

Arcade had his trusted doctor’s bag in his hands, joined with a knapsack that must’ve held a few changes of clothes inside, along with food and water. His plasma pistol was snuggled right between his belt and lab coat. Rexy’s tail wagged with excitement but he must have been too tired to run towards him.

“What are you doing?” Elest asked, biting back a smile of relief when he waddled up to her.

He sighed, “well, if there's one thing there's no shortage of in the Mojave, it's violence. Me wandering around with you isn’t going to help the followers, but it’ll make me feel better knowing that you’re safe, alright?” His eyes found Boone, and that motherfucker, she knew the look that was sprouting on Arcade’s face. The same look he got when he had the hots for some strapping lad out in the Wastes, he kept his cool and only nodded respectfully to him. “I thought about what you said, and I want to come with you.”

Elest was dumbstruck, she didn’t even know what to say, “So I’m not too dangerous for you?” She hummed antagonistically, she even had a smug look about her.

He scoffed. “Yeah, well, I never said that. I said it’ll make me feel better knowing that you’re safe.”

“It was a joke.”

 

“Not a funny one.”

 

She glared at him. Glancing over her shoulder at Boone, she saw traces of amusement in his face. Again, as much as it annoyed her, it was good to have Arcade standing in front of her instead of them being dozens of miles away from each other, with her having no idea if he was even alive. Now at least she would know. If he was killed or kidnapped it would surely happen right in front of her, with Boone and her next in line of course.  

God, this was all so fucked up. If Elest really cared about him then she wouldn’t let him come with her. She would kick Boone (as kindly as possible) to the curb, and just hurry up and get this brain shenanigan with Rex over with so she could make the painful decision of leaving the Mojave.

“Anyway,” she sighed. “Boone, this is Doctor Gannon, preferably Arcade. He’s a good friend of mine.

Best friend was the right word, but she knew Arcade would overreact. She didn’t want to  _ embarrass  _ him. He smiled, reaching out his hand to shake Boone’s. “Oh, good to meet you, I see you’re with the NCR.”

Boone hesitated, but after a few seconds he reached out and took his hand to him it a firm shake. “Was. Served six years.” His voice was a bit darker than usual.

 

* * *

Departing from the Mormon fort was a bit easier this time, especially when she wasn’t leaving anyone behind. Her spirits were uplifted, but her hope still thrashed. Off the bat, the three of them were very different from each other. That usually never stopped Arcade and Elest in the past since they had  _ more  _ than enough to talk about, but Boone wasn’t much of a talker, nor did he know much of what Arcade knew.

Elest was pleasantly surprised though, to see that they picked up conversation very quickly. Mainly about the conflict in Freeside, with the NCR sniffing out territory and everyone’s mutual respect for the followers. It was fine by her. It gave her time to look around and click away on her Pipboy to see exactly where they were standing on the roads. She had spent years in this place but still couldn’t memorize the paths. To admit, she was usually drugged up when she wandered them.

“Really, as long as we don’t do anything to help the Legion. Everything else is fine.”

Elest couldn’t see the Recon’s reaction, but she knew it made him grin just as much as it made her. “My thoughts exactly,” Boone responded, relieved.

God, Arcade was really trying to butter him up like he was a knob of maize.

Their conversation stopped abruptly when she heard footsteps approaching them, Boone leveled his rifle as a precaution. When Elest turned around she saw one of the king’s men moving closer to them. “Hey, you’re Elest right?” He asked, smoothing his hands through his styled hair even though it wouldn’t budge with all the added gel. Rexy’s tail wagged curiously, probably because the man looked like a clone of his former owner. “The King is glad to have you back in Freeside n’ said to give you these.”

He handed out to her five caps, but she did nothing but stare at his palm. “For the inconvenience at the gate, we don’t charge friends around here.”

“Sure, and I’ll go out to have brunch with him tomorrow.” She crossed her arms, “you can tell him his dog isn’t fixed yet, so he’ll stop following me around.”

The member of the Kings frowned deeply at her response. She could understand why. The King was. . . The  _ king  _ of Freeside, or at least that’s what he told everyone, he was basically playing a more serious game of dress up, if you asked her, with the accents and everything. Talking bad about him was like walking up to James Garrett in his own casino and telling him to fuck off, expecting him not to throw you out.

“It’s a reminder that we have your back, a token of appreciation. We help you, you help us. You know the rules.” It didn’t sound like a lovely assurance, it sounded like a threat if she was going to be honest.  

And  _ help _ , yeah right. His men had protected her twice from Dixon back when she was twenty, and that was it. All they had done was shove her off to the Followers, it wasn't like the bastards had provided her with Fixer and a place to sleep that wasn't a giant rat's piss spot. “Yeah, sure. I got it.” She snatched the caps from his hand.

He inhaled sharply through his nose, glaring over at Boone and his beret before turning around and moving towards the blue gate.

“Well, that went well,” Arcade muttered as Elest moved the kiddy backpack from her shoulder to drop the caps into the casing. “It’s nice to see that you’re still in the King’s good graces.”

“Good graces?” She scoffed, glancing down at her Pipboy to check her map before continuing forward. “I reckon he’s only being nice to me because I have his dog.” She huffed, zipping the bag back up and stringing it back over her shoulder. Looking over at Rexy who was sandwiched between Arcade and Boone. “At least we have the money now.”

“After you buy the brain, then what?” Boone asked.

“Then we go to Jacobstown.”

“Doctor Henry is still going to do the surgery, right?” Arcade asked. Elest almost forgot that he had been with her the first time they had gone over there with Rexy. To her, the memory felt like it stretched over the span of a few years ago, even though in reality it was only approximately six months. Maybe those two bullets really did a big number on her.

“He better. I didn’t put all my eggs in his basket for nothing.” Rounding the corner, she caught sight of Dixon lounging against the streetlight right in front of Mick and Ralph’s. Nice to know that even drug dealers were up at a reasonable time to get to business.

At the sight, it suddenly felt like someone was doing a handstand on her ribcage, yesterday it had been easy to walk by him with Boone at her side, especially with a road worth of distance between them, but today it felt different. She could still feel a taste of the effect from the Jet she took last night. Elest knew she was out, but the last thing she wanted to do in front of Arcade was buy more of it. He’d pitch the hissiest of the hissy fits if he found out that she was still using every now and then, even if she gave him a reasonable explanation on why. He would never accept it, especially since it took so long to get her back on her feet.

She met eyes with Dixon while they were heading inside, it was like he knew what she was thinking. Grinning widely with a sliver of his yellow teeth poking out from his lips. Arcade made sure that she went through the doors with them.

Once inside, Elest saw how the building was just as cramped as she could remember it being from her last visit. Dozens of nick-nacks, empty colorful boxes and containers that no one but a collector would think of spending their caps on. It reminded her of the inside of her duffel bag, but she didn’t exactly have a whole washing machine stuck in there.

They could hear the New Vegas Radio playing from somewhere in the shop. Elest pulled her bag from her shoulder and marched up to the broken glass counter that Ralph sat behind with  _ Programmer's Digest _ in hand, he was in the middle of pulling his feet from their placement by the register. He must have heard them coming in.

He saw Elest first. “Hey, it’s you. Thanks for taking out the Silver Rush, Mick has been getting more traffic for weapons ever since.”

Elest tried not to cringe at the brief mentioning of the hand she had in the execution of the Van Graffs. She set her duffel bag on the counter. “Glad to see I’m remembered fondly.” She smiled, she didn’t really know if it was worse to be thought of in that fashion. Would she rather be remembered as the lone Jet addict on the streets? It would probably to have a low profile, the one she so  _ desperately  _ wanted. Elest unzipped her bag and immediately pulled out the Vance family photograph to pin it under her arm. “Everything in here is fair game, except the books and medical items.”

“Fine by me, let me take a look.”

She looked over her shoulder to see Arcade touching the drum-shaped shade of a lamp. “Take care of the haggling for me. I’ll be right back” She told him, turning around and heading for the doors. Before she could grab the handle, Boone stopped her.

“If you’re going out there alone then keep your gun up. Just yell if you need anything.”

Elest rolled her eyes, “I’m not going to get myself killed. Thanks for the heads up.” She shouldered past him and hauled open the door.

  
  
* * *

 

She hit a standstill as soon as the doors behind her shut.

A few minutes ago when they had gone into Mick And Ralph’s, Dixon had been doing nothing but leaning against the light fixture with a fucked up look on his face and his arms crossed. Now he was across the street and in the midst of supplying one of the locals with a fix. A bald man in rags with a silver soul patch, his hands were visibly shaking from withdrawal as he quickly pocketed a pack of Mentats.

Elest caught eyes with him just before he turned away. She recognized the look he held, shame, shame, and denial. “Nice doing business with you, Ronte. See you whenever.” Dixon beamed, even if he hadn’t turned around yet, she could almost taste the enjoyment in his voice. What a sadistic bastard.

Looking over his shoulder, Dixon saw her standing in front of the doors. As Elest approached him, his stringy mustache crinkled along with his smile. “Well well, look who it is, Saint Mary herself. You still on your pretty high horse? Or are you here to sate your thirst?” He moved back to lean against the brick wall.

Elest fixed the picture frame under her arm. “Go fuck yourself.” She spat, her lips gnarling with disgust.

He laughed, causing him to open his mouth and show his discolored teeth. “Right, I forgot, you’re such a prude.” He licked the pad of his thumb and reached into his leather jacket. “Come on baby, you would’ve walked away by now if you weren’t looking for something.”

Elest didn’t have to stand here and let him relish in her look of humiliation like she was every other junkie in this bitch of a place. She had gotten better. The last time she had a fucking withdrawal was months ago, back when both Cass and Arcade were still with her. This may have been a step backward in everyone else's eyes, but at least she could sleep at night. She glanced over her shoulder to check if the streets were empty. “Just get me my Jet and we can get this over with.”

“There’s my party girl, so, are you wanting my special brew or that regular shit?”

“I’m not looking to kill myself.” She scoffed, at least not  _ anymore _ . “Regular, you dipshit. Eight of them.”

Maybe he was grinning like mad because he knew she was being so belligerent since it was the only sense of control she had in this situation. He fixed his roving trader hat and unbuttoned one of the pockets to his leather coat. Elest pulled the kiddy backpack from her shoulder and opened it slightly in order to hide its contents from Dixon. “How much?”

“One hundred twenty caps.”

Elest looked up, her mouth opening in surprise.  _ “Excuse me?” _

It was obvious he was getting a kick out of this, “you heard me, baby.” He hummed. “I’m raising the prices since you got mouthy with me. You know the rules, you pay with caps or we make a nice arrangement.”

Make an arrangement,  _ sure _ . This was one of those situations where it wouldn’t be dramatic of her to say she’d rather die. “Fine.” She retorted, her voice taut. Elest reached around deeper into the child’s book-bag until she found where the Aureus coins were. It felt more like a victory to her if she could pay him in Legion currency. Even so, the gold felt absolutely revolting in her hands, in a way that most objects never affected her. Her finger felt the outline of Caesar on the side of the coin, she grabbed two of them. “Here. Take it.”

He eyed them suspiciously, usually the normal pinhead on the streets wouldn’t be able to tell an Aureus from a Denarius, sometimes she wished she couldn’t. Still, he took them, deciding to trust that she wouldn’t fuck him over even though it was really past due that he get what was coming to him. He pulled out a handful of inhalers, nearly pushing down on the overcaps. Elest snatched them out of his hands.

He twinged the hairs of his mustache, “I hope I get to see your ass again, sooner than later.”

Elest would’ve told him to go fuck himself entirely, but there was more power to her in keeping silent. Thank god her flannel pockets were big, she shoved the Jet into the patch and turned on her heel to go back into Mick and Ralph’s.

Everything was the same when she walked back in, which wasn’t a surprise, but this time she was in cold sweat and felt like Boone knew what she had done just by looking at her. Elest made sure to flatten out the bulge on her flannel, hoping that it wasn’t too noticeable. “You weren’t gone long,” Boone said when the door shut behind her. She looked over at the counter to see Arcade lifting her duffel bag from the surface, his personal items and medicine bag were nowhere to be seen.

“I just needed some air.”

“Air?”

She stared back at him, “Yeah. Air.”

“Thank you, Ralph, I do appreciate the discount.” They could hear Arcade say, they unlocked eyes as the doctor came walking towards them. He handed out a set of spectacles to Boone. “You said these fit.”

He gladly took them, fitting them onto his head, he nodded. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Arcade grinned, looking over at Elest, her brows were still pulled together with frustration from her rather distasteful run-in with Dixon, but at least she had gotten what she came there for. “Are you alright?”

It wasn’t like Elest would be able to answer that honestly even if it had nothing to do with the Legion. Luckily she didn’t have to respond, getting distracted by Rex nudging against her leg, “hey Rexy,” she cooed gently, he looked up with watery brown eyes. “You don’t look so hot, bud.” Elest rubbed behind his ears, looking over at Arcade “did you see any containers in the bag when you were selling?”

He took it as a chance to hand the duffel bag over to her, “Yes, but it would probably be much more healthy to eat ghoul meat then whatever you have stuffed in those containers.

“Thanks, you’re hilarious, maybe you should audition at the Tops.” She took her carryall from his hands, weighing it before putting it over her shoulder. She stuffed her family photograph back in its compartment. “It feels the same.”

“There was enough room to put my medical bags in.” He replied, moving forward and opening the doors so the four of them could leave the general store. “You haven’t clean it out in over a year, there’s still empty Jet inhalers in there.”

Elest shot a quick glance over at Boone to see if he had been paying attention, but the sunglasses he just put on made it pretty difficult for her to know what he was thinking. This put them back to a couple days ago, with her trying to find out what was on his mind with only the crinkle of his nose and the curl of his lip to go off on.

Fine, maybe there was  _ one  _ thing that Boone knew about her that Arcade didn’t. Her drug usage was always a forever-in-progress, but he didn’t need to know that.

* * *

 

Dixon was gone. He must have left the east side gate after she bought from him. Which was fine by her, given that he would crack a comment that would end up making Arcade skeptical. Max and Stacy ran out in front of them and nearly elbowed Boone in the gut, they continued bolting around the streets without a care.

“Watch out you- ah nevermind. . .” Rotface grumbled, shuffling to the sidewalk to sit down in his usual spot beside the archway of a broken front door. Elest could only thank god that he hadn’t been there to see her meeting with their neighborhood drug dealer. He spotted them once he looked up and his lipless mouth curled into what she could guess was a smile. “Hey pal, spare a cap?”

Probably not at this rate, “yeah of course.” She pulled the children’s backpack from her shoulder to pull out a small handful of bottle caps. “I don’t need any tips today, maybe next time.”

“Doing charity today, are you? Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Glancing over at Arcade, she saw the modest grin he had on his face from her good deed, “we’re going to Novac, does anyone need anything before we leave?”

It was more of a question to herself if she was going to be honest. Going out that gate meant she was more than likely never going to come back, and this place might have been a total shithole with more shitheads and thugs than a Powder Ganger dweller, but it was still the closest place to a home that she’s had in a long time. “We could stop at Gun Runners and stock up on ammunition,” Boone replied.

Elest nodded, they were definitely going to need it if this journey for Rexy’s surgery took any longer than a week. Her hand moved to touch the muzzle of All-American that was squeezed against her spine.

 

Shit. She was really going to miss this place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope it was worth the near two month wait! My brain is fried from editing this all day, be expecting an update for The Way Of The Wind well before an update for this. Thank you so much for reading this far!


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